E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 106 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 146 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2000 No. 115 Senate (Legislative day of Friday, September 22, 2000) The Senate met at 12 noon and was We offer our prayers from the dif- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The dis- called to order by the President pro ferent faith traditions in which we live, tinguished Senator from Nevada is rec- tempore [Mr. THURMOND]. and as a Christian I pray in Jesus' ognized. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. To- name. Amen. Mr. REID. I also enjoyed the prayer. day's prayer will be offered by our f f guest Chaplain, Dr. James D. Miller, First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME OK. The Honorable PAT ROBERTS, a Sen- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under We are pleased to have you with us. ator from the State of Kansas, led the the previous order, leadership time is Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: reserved. PRAYER f The guest Chaplain, Dr. James D. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Miller, offered the following prayer: United States of America, and to the Repub- MORNING BUSINESS Let us pray together. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Almighty God, who flings galaxies f the previous order, there will now be a into space, who plays with quarks and period for the transaction of morning quasarsÐhow stunning it is, as the RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING business not to extend beyond the hour prophet Isaiah puts it: that You call us MAJORITY LEADER of 2 p.m. each by name, and we are Yours.Ð43:1. f It's because of such grace, O God, The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ROB- that we choose to begin our work this ERTS). The distinguished Senator from SCHEDULE Oklahoma is recognized. day by commending these Senators, Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, today their families, and those who work f the Senate will be in a period of morn- most closely with them into Your care. DR. JAMES D. MILLER, GUEST ing business until 2 p.m. Senator DUR- And as we do, we remember especially CHAPLAIN BIN will be in control of the first hour those here today who come from home and Senator THOMAS will be in control carrying personal burdens that have Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I was of the second hour. little to do with the pressures of public very honored to have the opening pray- Following morning business, the Sen- service. You know our individual er given by my pastor in Tulsa, OKÐa ate will begin debate on the motion to needs, O God. Wrap Your arms around church where my wife, who is present proceed to S. 2557, the National Energy those who find this day difficult; sur- today, and I were married 41 years Security Act. At 3:50 p.m. today, the prise them with Your life-giving grace agoÐwhen he was a very small baby, I Senate will begin closing remarks on and strength. might add. It is kind of unique, Mr. the Water Resources Development Act Grant these Senators a heart for the President. You know Oklahoma quite of 2000, with a vote scheduled to occur people whom they serve, especially well. Oklahoma wasn't even a State at 4:50 p.m. As a reminder, cloture was those Americans whose hopes are di- until 1907, and yet the First Pres- filed on the pending amendment to the minished today, whose dreams con- byterian Church started in 1885. For H±1B visa bill on Friday. stricted, who wonder if there's any the first 15 years, the congregation was f voice that really speaks on their be- made up entirely of Cree Indian. It is half. an unusual type of church. I might also ORDER OF PROCEDURE We thank You for blessings that add that in all those yearsÐthat would Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I now come through those who serve with en- be what, 115 yearsÐthere have only ask unanimous consent that the Sen- ergy, intelligence, imagination, and been six pastors of the First Pres- ate convene at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow; that love. Grant these leaders humility in byterian Church of Tulsa. Dr. Jim Mil- the time until 10:30 be equally divided discourse, courage to follow convic- ler is the sixth pastor. So once they between the two managers; and that tions, and wisdom to be led by con- come, they do not want to leave. the cloture vote on the pending amend- science. May they be honoring of one We are honored also to have with us ment to the H±1B visa bill occur at another, and may the work done here his wife Diana and two of his children, 10:30 a.m. bring honor supremely to You, Sov- David and Courtney, who are in attend- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there ereign Lord, before whom all of us will ance with my wife. objection? The Chair hears none and it one day stand and give account. I yield the floor. is so ordered. ∑ This ``bullet'' symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S9123 . S9124 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE September 25, 2000 Mr. INHOFE. I thank my colleagues widely popular, especially in an age ESSENTIAL WORKER for their attention. such as this, when Microsoft, IBM and IMMIGRATION COALITION, f other high-tech companies decided September 8, 2000. Hon. HARRY REID, H±1B AND LATINO AND they needed people to fill jobs that Minority Whip, U.S. Senate, IMMIGRANT FAIRNESS ACT were simply not being filled. Hundreds Washington, DC. of start-up high-tech companies, in ad- DEAR SENATOR REID: The Essential Worker Mr. REID. Mr. President, on Friday I dition to the big ones such as Microsoft Immigration Coalition (EWIC) is a coalition moved that we proceed to the Latino and IBM, began using this tool, H±1B, of businesses, trade associations, and other and Immigrant Fairness Act, and my in an effort to recruit an army of high- organizations from across the industry spec- good friend, the majority leader, ob- trum concerned with the shortage of both tech workers for programming jobs. jected to our proceeding to that bill. I semi-skilled and unskilled (``essential work- Mostly these people came from India, was disappointed, and I am sorry that er'') labor. China, and Great Britain. We now have we are not going to be able to debate While all sectors of the economy have ben- almost half a million people in this efited from the extended period of economic this issue, and hope that there will growth, one significant impediment to con- come a time before this Congress ends country who came as a result of H±1B. Individuals have filled a critical short- tinued growth is the shortage of essential when we will be able to do so. workers. With unemployment rates in some Those who are watching for action on age of high-tech workers in this coun- areas approaching zero and despite con- this important piece of legislation try and, in fact, the demand still ex- tinuing vigorous and successful welfare-to- should understand why we are at this ists. That is why we need to raise the work, school-to-work, and other recruitment point; that is, why we are not debating cap for H±1B immigration. efforts, some businesses are now finding the Latino and Immigrant Fairness themselves with no applicants of any kind But I also believe strongly that we for numerous job openings. There simply are Act, but, rather, why we are now on H± cannot serve one of our country's very not enough workers in the U.S. to meet the 1B only, and why tomorrow there is important interests and needs at the demand of our strong economy, and we must going to be a motion to invoke cloture expense of othersÐin particular, when recognize that foreign workers are part of on the underlying bill. the stakes are people's families and the answer. I consider myself to be one of the their labor. Furthermore, in this tight labor market, it strongest supporters for increasing can be devastating when a business loses em- visas for highly skilled workers. I have The needs of the United States are ployees because they are found to be in the spent an enormous amount of time not subject to the zero sum theory. We U.S. illegally. Many of these workers have over the past several years working on cannot afford to deal or choose or been in this country for years; paying taxes prioritize between people and who we and building lives. EWIC supports measures this legislation in an effort to expedite that will allow them to remain productive its consideration. As a matter of fact, will serve as their legislators. We must members of our society. this legislation should have been try to serve them all. That is our We believe there are several steps Congress brought forward to the Senate many cause, and that is what we promised can take now to help stabilize the current months ago. It should have been taken our constituents. workforce. Update the registry date. As has been done up and debated under the normal proc- This applies specifically to the other ess of considering legislation. I believe in the past, the registry date should be pieces of legislation that have been moved forward, this time from 1972 to 1986.