Pete Domenici: “Now, Mr. President, as I understand it, there are 50 hours of debate on this resolution. Unless it is agreed to add…”

“Now, Mr. President, as I understand it, there are 50 hours of debate on this resolution. Unless it is agreed to add additional time, each amendment is given 1 hour for the amendment, 1 hour in opposition to the amendment. Amendments to the amendments have one-half hour, and one-half hour in opposition. The Budget Act prescribes that opening statements will utilize 4 hours on economics, and that will be the opening of the budget debate. I am not so sure we are going to use all that time, but I would like to engage in a dialog with the ranking member, if he would, at this point. Senator Exon, I note, and I think you would concur, this is a rather exceptional year in that there are three full budgets that will be offered to the Senate: There is the Republican budget that is pending, encapsulated in the resolution; there is a bipartisan proposal, led by Senators Chafee and Breaux, which is a full substitute for the Republican proposal; and then there is a third proposal, which I assume you or someone on your side will offer, which is the President's budget, which, again, is a full substitute for the Republican plan. Also, obviously, there are many amendments that Members on your side and our side would like to offer, either to the Republican budget resolution or to one or the other of the other full budgets that I have just briefly described.”