August 6, 1976
Page 26115
Mr. LONG. Mr. President, if we permitted this amendment to have the discussion that the amendment properly deserves, we would still be discussing this amendment at 6 p.m. this evening. The Budget Committee has taken a position diametrically opposed to the direction of the amendment. I do not think that the Senate will agree to the amendment, even if we did discuss it.
So reluctantly I must move to lay the amendment on the table.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, will the Senator withhold for 2 minutes?
Mr. LONG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to yield to the Senator 2 minutes without losing my right to the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Maine.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the Senator wished to have my concurrence in what the Senator just said.
The Senate did reject the President's line item reduction tax program. In replacing it, in large part, we provided funds in direct spending in the budget for a wide host of programs.
As the Senator will remember, the President urged this kind of tax cut with regard to an outlay ceiling of $354 billion. The Budget Committee approved by Congress provided for an outlay ceiling of $412 billion. The difference is represented by the President's tax cut package.
The fiscal year 1977 impact on the budget of this amendment would be $7.1 billion.
We are already losing about $2 billion in terms of the budget resolution in this tax bill's revenues.
This would add $7.1 billion. We cannot find it in the direct spending budget. That is clear. The Senator from Kansas, who is a member of the Budget Committee, understands how hard it was to arrive at the $412 billion outlay ceiling.
So there is no way to accommodate this amendment in this loss of revenue in the first concurrent resolution which Congress has approved.
Mr. LONG. Mr. President, I move to lay the amendment on the table.
Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, will the Senator from Louisiana yield for 1 second?
Mr. LONG. I yield for 1 second.
Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to add the distinguished Senator from New Hampshire (Mr. DURKIN) as a cosponsor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
Mr. LONG. Yeas and nays, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to lay on the table the amendment of the Senator from Kansas. The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The second assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced — yeas 57, nays 29, as follows:
[Roll call vote tally omitted]