Dale Bumpers

Do my colleagues realize that of the 1,200 sites on the Superfund list that 59 of the sites on the Superfund list are directly related to hardrock mining? We are spending millions of dollars a year right now of the taxpayers' money to…

the distinguished Senator from Nevada, Mr. Reid, and I, are very good friends. We have fought many battles over this issue on the floor of the Senate. I have the utmost respect for him. But the Senator from Nevada started off talking about…

I appreciate the Senator's statement. My arguments are not punitive. I am not trying to punish the mining companies, and I am not trying to punish the people who work for the mining companies. Certainly the Senators who stand on the floor…

Senator, let us get back to my amendment. Can you quarrel with the premise of this amendment, which says that, under your provision, I am going to have to be very careful to keep a value of a gift under $20? As I say, that is tough enough…

I have to tell you, she is not going to call the president of Chrysler. She is going to call their local lobbyist.

I am being a devil's advocate on that. Obviously, I am not going to let somebody bring that many gifts to my office. I am talking about possibilities.

Well, let us assume somebody brings in a bottle of wine to my office that costs 20 bucks and then bring in a bottle every day. Does the $250 limitation kick in after the 12th bottle is brought in?

My judgment may be wrong, and the Ethics Committee may say, ``Senator, are you telling me that you thought it was reasonable to take a bottle of wine from 20 different people on 5 different occasions each for a total of 100 bottles?''

If I may, let me say I am not here to debate whether the executive rules are stricter or more lenient than ours. I am really not concerned about them. I am concerned about the ones that my colleagues and I in the U.S. Senate are going to…

If I take a gift from someone who is not a friend but not a lobbyist, I am limited to $20 on the value of the gift?

So gifts having a value of less than $20 from the same or different sources on a basis so frequent that a reasonable person is led to believe the Member or officer or employee is using the public office for private gain. Let me go back up…

The Senator from Alaska has raised some very important issues, and my own feeling is that one of the objections he has raised is so legitimate, I have sent this modification to the desk so that the Levin substitute covers spouses only and…

So if someone wants to give me a $20 bottle of wine every day 365 days a year that is not a violation?

Senator, I think that in the case of your beloved daughter, you would be quite secure if she came home with a gift of almost any value--well, I will not say that--but of nominal value, say, $20. You could be secure in that because there is…

I will give you an illustration of how that works. Betty's father died in 1986. He was not a wealthy man, but he was not poor. He left her land and money, and in the following year my assets went up rather substantially on my ethics…

One of the strongest objections I have had to the Levin proposal is not that lobbyists are prohibited from making any kind of a gift or contribution to a Senator, but because all other gifts are limited to $20. I must say I do not…

Is the Senator telling me that staff members, wives and spouses and dependents are not affected by this?

The Levin amendment prohibits a gift of any kind from a lobbyist. It limits gifts from others to a $20 value, with the exceptions which I am sure the Senator has seen. I am saying: Do not just make it for lobbyists; make it for anybody…

It is better than asking the man the value of this cap or T-shirt, whatever it is. T-shirts are much more expensive than I dreamed of these days. I tried to buy one a couple of weeks ago and it was $15. But you can say in a nice, discrete…

I assume that the Ambassador invited me because they get foreign aid from the United States. Nobody mentioned it. But that dinner would be permissible under the Wellstone-Levin proposals, and I assure you those situations can be much more…

I intend to support the McConnell-Johnston-Inouye amendment. It is a rather tough decision from a political point, and I had not made up my mind until I heard the Senator from Kentucky make his presentation yesterday afternoon, which I…

If a gift comes into my office, and I do not know what its value is, therefore, I do not know whether to keep it or return it. I know my secretary. She will call Woodies. Let us just assume that they say that gift sells here for $18.95…

Betty Ford and Rosalynn Carter have an organization called Every Child By 2. They have been circling this country for about 4 years, trying to raise the awareness levels of people all over the country about the necessity of having the…

I am immensely complimented by the kind words of the Senator from Kentucky and certainly welcome his support. I thought his presentation yesterday afternoon was right on target. It is not that anybody in the Senate wants to quarrel with…

That is much simpler, and I have not laid a minefield for myself. I am not going to be criticized for receiving $20, which somebody might do under the case I just gave you.