Congressional Record—Senate S4122
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S4122 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE May 18, 2000 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- when he introduced his legislation. The Honorable LINCOLN CHAFEE led pore. Objection is heard. Under the Senator WARNER, after many trips to the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: rule, the bill will be placed on the cal- Kosovo and firsthand experience, be- endar. came convinced that our united efforts I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Repub- f in the Balkans would have no chance of success unless promises made by our lic for which it stands, one nation under God, RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. allies were keptÐobligations for hu- f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- manitarian assistance and reconstruc- pore. Under the previous order, the tion so crucial to any positive out- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING leadership time is reserved. come. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE f Senator WARNER, in effect, issued a The PRESIDING OFFICER. The MILITARY CONSTRUCTION strong warning to our valued allies, clerk will please read a communication APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001 and I believe his legislation has become to the Senate from the President pro a catalyst for action. Almost every The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- tempore [Mr. THURMOND]. contributing NATO ally and the offi- The legislative clerk read the fol- pore. The Senate will now resume con- cials within the administration, has as- lowing letter: sideration of S. 2521, which the clerk sured the chairman, that they have will report. been, are, or will step up to the plate U.S. SENATE, The legislative clerk read as follows: PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, and fulfill their financial obligations. Washington, DC, May 18, 2000. A bill (S. 2521) making appropriations for I feel with certainty that President TO THE SENATE: Under the provisions of military construction, family housing, and Clinton can and will certify the Warner rule I, section 3, of the Standing Rules of the base realignment and closure for the Depart- requirements have been met, so essen- Senate, I hereby appoint the Honorable LIN- ment of Defense for the fiscal year ending tial to achieving peace and stability in September 30, 2001, and for other purposes. COLN CHAFEE, a Senator from the State of Kosovo. Regardless of how Members Rhode Island, to perform the duties of the Pending: feel about this legislation or U.S. in- Chair. Levin amendment No. 3154, to strike cer- volvement in Kosovo, we owe Senator STROM THURMOND, tain provisions which require ground troops President pro tempore. WARNER a debt of gratitude. be withdrawn from Kosovo by a fixed date. The second part of this legislation Mr. L. CHAFEE thereupon assumed The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- has been authored by Senator ROBERT the chair as Acting President pro tem- pore. The pending amendment is the BYRD. His knowledge of the U.S. Con- pore. Levin amendment No. 3154. stitution has no equal in this body and f Under the previous order, the Sen- his tireless efforts in defending and RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING ator from Kansas, Mr. ROBERTS, is rec- protecting the constitutional preroga- MAJORITY LEADER ognized to speak for up to 15 minutes. tives of this institution will be among Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I ask the many legacies he will leave us. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- unanimous consent that I may proceed Senator BYRD has a not-so-unique pore. The Senator from Kansas. for 20 minutes. conviction. He believes, and I believe, f The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- that we should balance the need for pore. Is there objection? SCHEDULE Presidential flexibility in foreign af- Mr. LEVIN. Reserving the right to fairs and our constitutional power of Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, today object. the purse. the Senate will resume consideration The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- His legislation signals the end to of the military construction appropria- pore. The Senator from Michigan. open-endedÐand I emphasize the word tions bill. There are nearly 51¤2 hours of Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, there is a ``open-ended''ÐU.S. peacekeeping oper- debate remaining on the Levin amend- time that has been allocated to each ations in Kosovo and by periodic re- ment in regard to Kosovo. Senators side. I ask my good friend from Kansas porting promote actual consultation who have statements are encouraged to whether or not the additional 5 min- with the Congress and enable us to work with the amendment managers utes will come out from the time that abide by the Constitution's directives on a time to come to the floor. Fol- is allocated to his side. on the separation of powers. lowing the use or yielding back of Mr. ROBERTS. The Senator is cor- I certainly identify with Senator time, a vote will occur at approxi- rect. Last night I asked, under a unani- BYRD's purpose, as I authored a some- mately 2:30 this afternoon. After the mous consent request, for 20 minutes. I what similar reporting requirement in disposition of the Levin amendment, it discovered this morning it was 15 min- 1998 during consideration of the De- is hoped the Senate can proceed to a utes. I am merely asking for an addi- fense appropriations bill, as did Sen- vote on final passage of the bill. tional 5 minutes. Obviously, it will ators CLELAND and SNOWE. This is not For the remainder of the day, it is come out of our time. new ground we are plowing. The report- the intention of the leader to begin Mr. LEVIN. I have no objection if it ing requirement was a little different. consideration of the foreign operations comes out of their time. It was after the fact, and it was a fore- appropriations bill. Senators, there- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- gone conclusion in terms of our in- fore, can anticipate votes into this eve- pore. Without objection, it is so or- volvement. We were trying to better ning's session. dered. The Senator is recognized for 20 determine the mission, the cost, the f minutes. timing, et cetera. Again, this is not Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I rise MEASURE PLACED ON THE new ground we are plowing. to lend my support to the proposed leg- Notwithstanding the actual content CALENDARÐH.R. 3709 islation by my colleagues, Senator of the Byrd-Warner amendment, it cer- Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I un- BYRD and Senator WARNER, in ref- tainly has caused quite a fuss, so much derstand there is a bill at the desk due erence to U.S. obligations and involve- of a fuss that the Senate of the United for its second reading. ment in Kosovo and, in a larger sense, States is actually in the midst of a for- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- in NATO as well, and in opposition to eign policy debate, some $15 billion and pore. The clerk will read the bill for the amendment to strike that has been 6 or 7 years into intervention in the the second time. offered by the distinguished Senator Balkans. The legislative clerk read as follows: from Michigan. We actually have Senators in both A bill (H.R. 3709) to extend for 5 years the In this regard, I am a cosponsor of the Republican conference and the moratorium enacted by the Internet Tax the language introduced several weeks Democratic caucus involved in some Freedom Act, and for other purposes. ago by the distinguished chairman of very spirited debate about the U.S. pol- Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I ob- the Armed Services Committee, Sen- icy in the Balkans, so emblematic of ject to further proceedings on the bill ator WARNER. I had the privilege of the so-called Clinton doctrine. Imagine at this time. being in the Presiding Officer's chair that, foreign policy actually getting VerDate 19-MAY-2000 01:50 May 19, 2000 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G18MY6.003 pfrm01 PsN: S18PT1 May 18, 2000 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE S4123 some attention in the middle of an Let the critics, let all of my col- The U.S. military is being deployed all election year and a Presidential cam- leagues who oppose this legislation, an- over the world by this administration paign. That is good. That is not bad; swer the following questions: at rates far above that seen in regard that is good. We need this debate. First: Are the Europeans capable of to the cold war. We must ensure that In fact, I know of two Senators, the maintaining the peace in Kosovo? That we have the forces to be able to re- Senator from Georgia, Mr. CLELAND, is a very important question. spond to threats to our vital national and this Senator from Kansas who have Second: Are the Europeans solvent security interests. braved the morning business hours, al- enough to meet their promised fiscal The point is not to debate whether ways held in the late afternoons, to responsibility? I think we all know the we should have gone to war in launch what we call a foreign policy di- answer to that. KosovoÐthose 20±20 hindsight lessons alog and discuss at length our vital na- Does the Congress have any responsi- learned are still in progress, and they tional security interests, the direction bility for foreign policy? should beÐbut rather to decide how of our foreign policy, and the use of Have we asked the President, time long we will keep draining limited U.S. force and related topics. and time again, with numerous report- resources when we still cannot define A few Senators have joined us, par- ing requirementsÐas I have indicated, what our long-term objectives in Kosovo are, or when the Europeans are ticularly Senators HUTCHINSON, HAGEL, as Senator CLELAND, Senator SNOWE, fully capable of performing the peace- LUGAR, and LEVIN.