SENATE—Monday, July 19, 1999
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16506 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE July 19, 1999 SENATE—Monday, July 19, 1999 The Senate met at 12:01 p.m. and was SCHEDULE fostered by the British-American Par- called to order by the President pro Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, today liamentary Group. My good and true tempore [Mr. THURMOND]. the Senate will immediately begin a and long-time friend, Senator STEVENS, period of morning business until 1 and I serve as co-chairs for the Amer- PRAYER o’clock. ican delegation. These exchanges date back to the aftermath of World War II, The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John ORDER OF PROCEDURE when both sides recognized the value of Ogilvie, offered the following prayer: Following morning business, I ask Gracious God, You have made this maintaining the kind of close working unanimous consent that the Senate relationship that can only be realized life but a small part of the whole of begin debate on the motion to proceed eternity. You have defeated the enemy through personal interaction and ca- to the intelligence authorization bill. maraderie. After graciously hosting of death and made it a transition in The PRESIDENT pro tempore. With- living. Our life here on Earth is only an Senator STEVENS and me in 1997, when out objection, it is so ordered. we visited London and York with sev- inch on the yardstick of forever. You Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, as a are Lord of earth and of heaven. It is in eral other Senators, Lord Jopling later reminder, a cloture motion on the mo- this week will arrive in Washington this confidence that we join this prayer tion to proceed to the intelligence au- with the millions of prayers for the with Members from the House of Lords thorization bill was filed on Friday, and the House of Commons. Lord Mi- Kennedy and Bessette families. Grant and that vote has been scheduled to them supernatural strength, comfort, chael Jopling is a former Member of take place at 10:30 tomorrow morning. the House of Commons. This weekend, and courage in their time of immense Therefore, that cloture vote will be the anguish over the plane accident involv- I am pleased that the group will be first vote of this week. meeting at the famous Greenbrier in ing John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife For the information of all Senators, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, it is the intention of the majority lead- to discuss defense, trade, and environ- Bessette. O dear God, we speak of these er to complete action on as many ap- three remarkable young leaders in the mental issues of concern to our great propriations bills as possible prior to nations. present tense for, regardless of the out- the August recess. Therefore, Senators come of this tragic accident, they are As an avid student of history, par- should expect votes into the evenings ticularly Roman and Greek history, alive with You. and on Mondays and on Fridays all This morning, our hearts go out in Persian history, English history, and throughout the next 3 weeks. American history, I remind all who profound love and caring for our friend, I thank my colleagues for their at- Senator TED KENNEDY, and the entire will listen that those roots are essen- tention. I yield the floor. I suggest the tial in understanding the development Kennedy family. They have endured absence of a quorum. the excruciating pain of grief so often. of the American Constitution. In the The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate chamber, and while walking And yet, through it all, they have clerk will call the roll. shown us the resiliency of faith in You through the halls of our columned Cap- The legislative assistant proceeded itol building, I am daily reminded of and the uplifting strength of an inde- to call the roll. fatigable commitment to public serv- the unique and enduring legacy be- (Mr. ROBERTS assumed the Chair.) queathed to Americans by our English, ice. No American family has given Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unan- more or served this Nation more faith- Scot, Welsh, and Irish ancestors. The imous consent that the order for the Minton tiles paving the corridors as fully. Now we praise You for the life of quorum call be rescinded. John F. Kennedy, Jr.—for his winsome, well as the very language of debate The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without which rings across the Senate floor in winning way, for his commitment to objection, it is so ordered. service and, along with his wife, Caro- sonorous spoken cadences recall this lyn, for his affirmation of life. f powerful legacy. Even the physical Now we ask You to continue to sur- MORNING BUSINESS being of the Capitol building itself—its round the families with Your ever- white marble and sunny sandstone Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, what is the lasting arms and heal their aching gleaming amid graceful stands of state- parliamentary situation? hearts through Him who is the Res- ly trees and curving drives—owes a nod The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under urrection and the Life. Amen. of thanks to informal and inviting the previous order, there will now be a f landscaping design pioneered in Brit- period for the transaction of morning ain. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE business not to extend beyond the hour And, less visible but more pervasive, The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Sen- of 1 o’clock with Senators permitted to the strong skeleton of government and speak therein for not to exceed 5 min- ator ROBERTS is now designated to lead law in the United States carries the in- the Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance. utes each. delible genetic markers of British ori- Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unan- The Honorable PAT ROBERTS, a Sen- gin—its DNA shaped by centuries of ator from the State of Kansas, led the imous consent to speak for an addi- struggle between monarchs and par- Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: tional 10 minutes, if necessary. liaments before mutating into a new The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the form under the guidance of the British United States of America, and to the Repub- objection, it is so ordered. citizens that became our Founding Fa- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair. thers. Though certainly not an exact indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. f clone, like Dolly the sheep, the Amer- f ican bicameral legislature and our BRITISH-AMERICAN legal system based upon British Com- RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING PARLIAMENTARY GROUP mon Law bear witness to this sturdy MAJORITY LEADER Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, this week inheritance. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The a delegation of British Members of Par- From the defining moment at Runny- acting majority leader, Senator ROB- liament will visit the Senate in the lat- mede in 1215, when the English barons ERTS, is recognized. est in a long line of biennial exchanges forced King John to give his assent to ● This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. VerDate mar 24 2004 09:27 Apr 21, 2004 Jkt 069102 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR99\S19JY9.000 S19JY9 July 19, 1999 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE 16507 a charter of liberties, the belief in fun- quired that they accede to and agree to Jopling. My wife and I were in Eng- damental written guarantees of rights the Declaration of Rights, which had land—in York, as a matter of fact—in and privileges has become a treasured been drawn up in February of 1689. August of the year before last, on the inheritance on both sides of the Atlan- Once they agreed, then they were day that Princess Diana was killed, tic. Unknown or unpracticed in many crowned joint monarchs. In December and on which we returned to the United parts of the world, the concept of indi- of that year, the English Declaration of States after meeting with the British- vidual rights guaranteed by law is a Rights was put into statute form and U.S. Parliamentary Group. I had the jewel in the crown of British history. designated the English Bill of Rights. pleasure of chairing the group when we Other documents written since the This is a pearl beyond price, and one Democrats were in control of the Sen- Magna Carta, and comprising the un- which I hope to pass down unblemished ate. On that occasion, I took the mem- written English Constitution, includ- to my descendants. Never again, after bers of the British group down to the ing the Petition of Right, 1628, and the that English Bill of Rights had been Greenbrier, in Greenbrier County at English Bill of Rights, 1689, have also put into statute form, would Kings White Sulphur Springs. We enjoyed it. found new life on distant shores in the levy taxes—excise or other taxes—upon We all look forward to going there U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. the British people without the ap- again. And the concepts of ‘‘habeas corpus,’’ proval, the assent and consent of Par- Again, I welcome Lord and Lady presentment and trial juries, ‘‘just liament. I have fought with every Jopling, and the British members of compensation,’’ and the right against ounce of energy that I could muster this year’s exchange. self-incrimination, all pillars of Amer- against such mutations of the legacy Mr. President, I yield the floor and ican jurisprudence, migrated to the passed down to this country through a suggest the absence of a quorum.