October 7, 1978
Page 34570
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Mr. President, if the Senator would yield to me, here is the situation we are up against.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If the Senator will suspend for a moment, I suspect we would like to hear what the majority leader wants to say. The Chair would ask for order in the Chamber from the Senators and the staff people.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. I thank the Chair.
Mr. President, I voted "aye" on the tabling motion today, so I demonstrated by my vote I wanted to get rid of the Glenn amendment, with all due respect to the Senator from Ohio.
But my side did not prevail. Now we are not going to vote on that Glenn amendment tonight, everybody knows that, and as long as the Glenn amendment is pending we are not going to vote on any amendment. Another motion to table is not in order today, so I hope we would be able to let the Senator from Wisconsin offer his amendment. There is no way we can keep him from doing it. If he does not offer it today he will offer it Monday.
Mr. CURTIS. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a 1-minute observation in that regard?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Will the Senator let me finish first and then I will be glad to yield.
Let him offer his amendment, and then let us get consent to put all three of them aside, the Nelson amendment, the Muskie amendment, and the Glenn amendment. They are all agreeable to doing that. Then let us take up some other amendments. Mr. KENNEDY has an amendment; other Senators have some amendments and let them offer them so we can get some votes here. There are Senators waiting to vote. We are not going to vote on those amendments today.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, will the Senator from West Virginia yield? Is the Senator from Maine and is the Senator from Ohio prepared to yield if we take up these other amendments?
Mr. MUSKIE. Yes. I have only one suggestion.
Mr. STEVENS. I yield to the Senator without losing my right to the floor.
Mr. MUSKIE. I am perfectly willing to do that, but I would like to have a minimum amount of time on Monday before the cloture vote in order to remind Senators what is at stake, so that when they make their choice on the cloture motion they can do so with understanding. It will not take much time. That is all I ask. Other than that I am perfectly willing to set my amendment aside, and I think Senator GLENN is, too.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. If the Senator sets his amendment aside that automatically sets Mr. GLENN's amendment aside.
Mr. STEVENS. Does the distinguished majority leader intend to file another cloture motion on the substitute today?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Yes.
Mr. STEVENS. If the substitute cloture motion fails on Monday there would be a vote Tuesday on the substitute.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Yes. I would also ask unanimous consent that the debate on the conference reports on the energy conference reports, begin at 2 o'clock in the afternoon; that the 1 hour on the cloture motion begin at 3 o'clock, and that at 4 o'clock the two votes occur on the energy conference reports, followed by the vote on cloture, which puts the cloture vote at around 4:30 in the afternoon.
Mr. STEVENS. I will not object. Reserving the right to object, it is my understanding that the cloture motion would be voted upon last. If that cloture motion happened to fail, would the majority leader tell us where we go from there?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Yes. The vote would then occur on the cloture motion offered by Mr. GLENN. If that carries, that cloture motion only applies, as I understand it, to the Glenn amendment.
Mr. MUSKIE. It applies to the Muskie amendment and the Glenn amendment.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Well, if it applies to the Muskie amendment and it carries, the Glenn amendment is probably not germane. If it is germane—
Mr. LONG. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I believe he will find that once cloture has been agreed on, the germaneness rule under cloture is very strict.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Right, and the Glenn amendment may not be.
Mr. LONG. I believe if you will check with the Parliamentarian, he will tell you that under cloture the Glenn amendment would not be germane to the Muskie amendment.
Mr. GLENN. We have checked with the Parliamentarian.
Mr. LONG. I have checked before on things like that, and they have not been.
Mr. GLENN. We have checked with the Parliamentarian within the last hour, and he advises it will be germane.
Several Senators addressed the Chair.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I still have the floor. Are we seeking a unanimous consent agreement on that time frame now? There are some Senators who are waiting to leave and would like to know the schedule for Monday.
PROGRAM FOR MONDAY
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Here is the scenario for Monday: The Senate is coming in at 10. After the two leaders have been recognized under the standing order, and after any special orders for the recognition of Senators have been consummated, the Senate will return to the consideration of the tax bill. At that time, any Senator could debate any part of it that he wanted to, but if anyone wanted to call up an amendment, the amendment by the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. NELSON) would be pending at that point.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. President, will the majority leader yield for a question?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Well, would — yes, I yield.
Mr.. HANSEN. When you say anyone can debate anything he wants to, I got 90 seconds this morning. Can I get a little more than that Monday, if I want it?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. I yielded, Mr. President, thinking the Senator from Wyoming had a serious question. I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Wyoming have 30 minutes under his own control on Monday, to discuss anything he wants to on the subject.
Mr. HANSEN. I may not need nearly that much time.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. All right.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. PACKWOOD. I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. I think I know what the Senator from Oregon has in mind. After the Muskie and Glenn amendments are disposed of, Mr. PACKWOOD's amendment is in order.
Mr. PACKWOOD. Good.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. We forgot about that.
Mr. STEVENSON. I do not know how the majority leader got the Nelson amendment to be the pending amendment. If cloture fails on the Glenn amendment, how does the Nelson amendment become the pending business?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Because the Nelson amendment is on the bill.
Mr. STEVENS. Can we have the assurance that the debate on the Nelson amendment will not commence until after the two cloture motions are voted on?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. It is perfectly all right with me.
Mr. STEVENS. Is that agreeable with the Senator from Wisconsin?
Mr. NELSON. Are you talking about the two clotures on Monday?
Mr. STEVENS. First, we have a cloture motion filed on the substitute to the tax bill. If that carries, we would then go to the cloture motion on the Senator's amendment to the bill. I assume you have a cloture petition in your hand, too.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. But it could not be voted on, on Monday.
Mr. STEVENS. It could not be voted on until second day of session after today.
Mr. NELSON. Until Tuesday.
Mr. STEVENS. Tuesday, right. But the debate on your amendment would not commence until these other matters are out of the way. Some of our people wanting to leave want to discuss the Muskie and Glenn amendments before the votes. Will the Senator agree to that?
Mr. NELSON. No, I was supposed to be able to call up the amendment or file a cloture motion now, and then set it aside.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. The Senator cannot file it now; he will have to wait until this is decided.
Mr. STEVENS. The debate will not start on the Nelson amendment until after the two cloture votes are concluded.
Mr. NELSON. I may want to put a statement in the RECORD.
Mr. STEVENS. I am just talking about closing out debate on these other matters.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, as far as I am concerned, I would like a little time before the vote on the first cloture motion. With respect to the second cloture motion, it may not survive the first cloture vote; if the first cloture is agreed to, the second one is out. So it is the first cloture vote that is critical to me, and if I could get some part of that hour, 15 or 20 minutes
Mr. STEVENS. The time is equally divided under the rules, is it not?
Mr. MUSKIE. Well, I just wanted to be sure. That is all the time I am interested in.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Mr. President, if the Chair will allow me, I think I can get all of this out of the way.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Alaska yield?
Mr. STEVENS. I yield, under the same agreement.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. I ask unanimous consent that after the two leaders have been recognized on Monday, and any orders for recognition of Senators have been consummated, and any conference reports, the Senate resume its consideration of this tax bill, and that the time between that moment and 12:00 be equally divided between Mr. LONG and Mr. MUSKIE, with the understanding that Mr. HANSEN would have at least 30 minutes of the time; and then; at 12:00, the Senate proceed to 1 hour of debate on the conference report on energy, at 2:00, proceed to the 1 hour of debate on cloture, and at 3:00, begin those two roll call votes on conference reports, immediately thereafter have the vote on cloture on my motion, and that is it.
Mr. STEVENS. Reserving the right to object
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Instead of starting the one hour on the energy conference report at 12:00, make it 1:00.Then the 1 hour on cloture to begin at 2:00, and votes on the conference reports to begin at 3:00, followed by the vote on cloture.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, as I understand it, we will start the 1 hour of debate between 1:00 and 2:00, and we would have between 2:00 and 3:00 — I thought previously we had an understanding that we would start those votes at 4:00. I do not know how we got to 3:00.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Just a second. At 2:00 the time begins running on the conference report. At 3:00, the 1 hour on the cloture motion begins running. At 4:00, the first vote on the energy conference report. Immediately thereafter, the vote on the second energy conference report occurs. Immediately thereafter, the vote on cloture, which would make it around 4:30.
Mr. STEVENS. Could we tie down that part of it now?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. And that the automatic quorum call be waived.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I have the reservation that if the first cloture motion is adopted, the vote would fall on the second cloture motion, and there would automatically be an hour in between.
Mr. STEVENS. We would like there to be an hour in between, so we will know what we are talking about in terms of the Muskie-Glenn cloture votes. Is that agreeable?
Mr. GLENN. Reserving the right to object
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. I add that, Mr. President: Following the vote on the first cloture motion, if that cloture motion is not adopted, that there be one hour for debate on the second cloture motion.
Mr. JAVITS. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, amendments have to qualify, even if there be a cloture motion at the desk and read. So will the Senator take that into account?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. They must be there, in writing.
Mr. JAVITS. In writing; will the Senator include that?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. That is automatic.
Mr. JAVITS. I am not sure it is automatic. I ask the Chair to rule. Are the amendments that are at the desk in writing on the first cloture vote considered qualified under the rule, not as to germaneness, but qualified before the motion?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Any amendment presented to the clerk prior to the announcement of a successful vote on cloture does qualify.
Mr. JAVITS. I thank the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. But it still must be germane.
Several Senators addressed the Chair.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, again may I inquire of the majority leader? We do not have an agreement yet that there will be no roll call votes until 4, but is it our understanding, subject to what might develop on the bill itself in the way of amendments, that there will be no roll call votes pertaining to these matters we are discussing before 4 o'clock?
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. Not on these matters. We should leave open the policy with regard to roll call votes, if someone thinks about it over the weekend and wants to.
Mr. STEVENS. I am referring to the tax bill. We might have a vote on an amendment to the tax bill that is not contemplated now, but other than those in respect to the amendments of Senators MUSKIE, GLENN and NELSON, we have been talking, the voting will not occur before 4.
Mr. ROBERT C. BYRD. The Senator is correct.