CONGRESSIONAL RECORD – SENATE.

May 1, 1974

Page 12643

Mr. MANSFIELD obtained the floor.

Mr. TOWER. Mr. President, will the Senator from Montana yield?

Mr. MANSFIELD. I yield.

Mr. TOWER. Mr. President, if we expect to get to final passage tonight, it will be very late; it might be very early tomorrow. I am not willing to bring this matter to a final vote this evening unless all Senators are prepared to stay for a long time.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, that is cheery news.

I suggest the absence of a quorum, with the proviso that I will not lose my right to the floor.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

The second assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending business be laid aside, until Tuesday next.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

Mr. CHILES. I object.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be laid aside until Monday next.

Mr. PACKWOOD. I object.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be laid aside until Friday next.

Mr. COOK. I object.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

Mr. MANSFIELD. At least there is good orchestration.

Mr. TOWER. Mr. President, I would certainly be willing to lay the pending bill aside for this evening, until Tuesday. I do not know what the objections of my colleagues are. But I do think that if we laid it aside until Tuesday, it would give all Senators an opportunity to study the

RECORD.

Mr. PERCY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object–

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, there have been nothing but objections, so the Senator does not have a right to reserve the right to object. But I will yield to him, so long as objection has been raised.

Mr. PERCY. Mr. President, I shall not object to this proposal if the floor manager on our side would prefer to go ahead. But the reason for my concern is as has been expressed on the floor of the Senate. There is grave uncertainty about the fact that we have ended controls.

We would have a period of time when companies and labor unions all over the United States are wondering what is going to happen. If they feel controls are not going back on, and we will have a period of uncertainty, we are opening up the economy for a tremendous bulge in prices.

Could we not vote tomorrow?

Mr. GOLDWATER. Mr. President, has the Senator considered Wednesday? We might not object to Wednesday.

Mr. TOWER. If the Senator will yield, perhaps we could have a motion to recommit and send it back to committee, with instructions to report on the matters germane to the original bill.

Mr. MANSFIELD. We could, but we will not.

[Laughter.]

Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. MANSFIELD. I yield.

Mr. MUSKIE. May I make this point in regard to the suggestion of the Senator from Illinois? The votes this afternoon have disposed of standby controls. All that remains at issue is the continuation of the Cost of Living Council.

The Cost of Living Council will continue funded until June 30. So it is not critical that the final vote take place instantly.

I think the majority leader makes good sense.

Mr. BROCK. Is it not true that the Cost of Living Council continues only in the sense that their salaries are paid, but they have absolutely no authority in the sense of enforcing any existing standards or otherwise?

Mr. MUSKIE. I believe the Senator is correct. But voting final passage of the monitoring authority we will cloak them with is not so urgent that we need to decide it Thursday or Friday instead of Monday or Tuesday. If it took a long weekend–

Mr. MANSFIELD. No, no, we will not take a long weekend, because we have business to do.

Mr. MUSKIE. I mean for the Cost of Living Council.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Oh. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending business be temporarily laid aside, and that it be resumed as the pending business on Wednesday next.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. MANSFIELD. There will be no more votes tonight.