Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 107 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 107 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 148 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2002 No. 51 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was U.S. SENATE, Judges for the State of Pennsylvania. called to order by the Honorable E. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, There will be a half hour of debate on BENJAMIN NELSON, a Senator from the Washington, DC, April 30, 2002. those two matters. Then we will vote State of Nebraska. To the Senate: this afternoon at 2:15, following our Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, normal weekly party conferences. PRAYER of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby appoint the Honorable E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Following disposition of these nomi- The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John a Senator from the State of Nebraska, to nations, we will again go back to the Ogilvie, offered the following prayer: perform the duties of the Chair. Andean trade bill. A rollcall vote on A voice from the past calls us to ROBERT C. BYRD, adoption of the motion to proceed is make our work an expression of our President pro tempore. expected today, sometime this evening. faith. In 1780, the father of the Amer- Mr. NELSON of Nebraska thereupon We hope those who wish to speak on ican Revolution, Samuel Adams, said: assumed the chair as Acting President this matter will do so. In the mean- ‘‘If you carefully fulfill the various pro tempore. time, I ask unanimous consent that duties of life from a principle of obedi- f time under the quorum call I will ini- ence to your heavenly Father, you will tiate be equally charged against the enjoy a peace which the world cannot RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME proponents and opponents of this legis- give nor take away.’’ The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- lation. Let us pray: Gracious Father, we pore. Under the previous order, the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- seek to be obedient to You as we fulfill leadership time is reserved. pore. Without objection, it is so or- the sacred duties of this Senate today. dered. May the Senators and all who assist f Mr. REID. I suggest the absence of a them see the work of this day as an op- ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE quorum. portunity to glorify You by serving our ACT—MOTION TO PROCEED The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- country. We renew our commitment to pore. The clerk will call the roll. excellence in all that we do. Our desire The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- The assistant legislative clerk pro- is to know and do Your will. Grant us pore. Under the previous order, the ceeded to call the roll. a profound experience of Your peace, Senate will now resume consideration Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I true serenity in our souls that comes of the motion to proceed to H.R. 3009, ask unanimous consent that the order from complete trust in You, and de- which the clerk will report. for the quorum call be rescinded. pendence on Your guidance. Free us of The assistant legislative clerk read The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- anything that would distract us or dis- as follows: pore. Without objection, it is so or- turb us as we give ourselves to the task Motion to proceed to the bill (H.R. 3009) to dered. extend the Andean Trade Preference Act, to and challenges today. In the Lord’s COLLEGE EDUCATION COSTS name. Amen. grant additional trade benefits under that act, and for other purposes. Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, last f year, the Senate made significant The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- strides in easing the burdens of Amer- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE pore. Under the previous order, the ican families facing the mounting costs time until 12 noon shall be equally di- The Honorable E. BENJAMIN NELSON of a college education. In an initiative vided and controlled between the pro- led the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: that I have sponsored, and in which I ponents and opponents of the motion. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the take enormous pride—the tax reduc- United States of America, and to the Repub- RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING MAJORITY LEADER tion legislation of last year—there is a lic for which it stands, one nation under God, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. provision allowing partial tuition, for pore. The Senator from Nevada is rec- the first time in American history, to f ognized. become tax deductible. APPOINTMENT OF ACTING SCHEDULE Another measure that I successfully PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE Mr. REID. As the Chair has an- authored raised a cap on interest on The PRESIDING OFFICER. The nounced, we are now on the Andean student loans so that they could be- clerk will please read a communication trade bill. Until noon there will be re- come deductible. In many ways, for to the Senate from the President pro marks of those who favor it and those middle-income families—indeed, for all tempore (Mr. BYRD). who are opposed to it. At noon we will American families—this was enor- The assistant legislative clerk read vote on Michael Baylson and Cynthia mously helpful in easing the burden of the following letter: Rufe to be United States District an expensive college education. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S3515 . VerDate 11-MAY-2000 04:25 May 01, 2002 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A30AP6.000 pfrm12 PsN: S30PT1 S3516 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 30, 2002 You can imagine how distressed I was expensive for people to go into medi- last night. We come back, and we vote to discover in recent days that the ad- cine when doctors are already leaving on something we could have been vot- ministration has a new initiative that the profession? Do we really want to ing on anytime—on Tuesday, Wednes- would now increase the burden of fi- make it harder for people to go to grad- day, or Thursday. nancing a college education—just as we uate school when we need engineers Then you see the press corps around were making all of this progress. The and businesspeople with real talents? Washington. They all think everything proposal, of course, is to prohibit the This cannot be the right priority for that is worthwhile is happening in consolidation of student loans at low, the country. Washington. You read the Hill and you fixed interest rates. This will com- I hope the administration will recon- read Roll Call and they say it is per- pound the problems of millions of sider this proposal. The administration fectly reasonable for the majority lead- American families who rely upon stu- needs revenue. This cannot be the right er to say everyone ought to be in Wash- dent loans to finance a college edu- way to approach it. Strangely, in this ington all the time. cation. same Congress, while raising taxes on I can tell you one of the problems we Under their current program, a fam- middle-income families and college have is people who are in Washington ily can take their various student students, the administration is pro- all the time lose sight of who real peo- loans, consolidate them in a single posing to revisit the estate tax, which ple are. It is so hard to explain to peo- loan, and fix them at a determined in- we have already lowered, and increase ple around here, but people in my State terest rate, which is predictable and the threshold so that only less than of Oklahoma understand it very well. will not alter for the life of the loan. half of a percentage point of Americans There aren’t any real, normal people in The savings, obviously, will allow stu- are even subjected to the tax. And the Washington. Everyone is either a Mem- dents to consider going beyond college rates on those people have been low- ber or they are a staffer or they are a to graduate education. It allows young ered. We are going to revisit that tax lobbyist or somebody else. To be able people who have these debts to begin while taxing college students and mid- to get what is needed for America, you families, buy homes, and start their dle-income families. need to get back into real America. lives. I cannot be the only person in this Oklahoma is real America. I can cite Under the alternative proposal by the institution who thinks this does not some examples. administration, students graduating make any sense for the country or the I will be talking to the Duma this from college will have variable interest Congress. I hope we do not have a con- afternoon, the Russian Duma, about loans. That would make it impossible frontation with the Bush administra- our new relationship with Russia. to plan young lives. The debts begin at tion on this point. I hope they recon- When I go back to Oklahoma, they will high interest rates and they are then sider it. I hope they withdraw it. It is say: Wait a minute; why do we still subject to the market. just the wrong thing to do. have an ABM Treaty that was set up in Young families having children, buy- I yield the floor. 1972? ing homes, in 5 years could find inter- I suggest the absence of a quorum Fortunately, we are going to get rid est rates at significantly higher levels.