the Senator from New Mexico stated that his amendment would in no way require anything other than the reporting requirements. They would still have to abide by the reporting requirements. The key point is that his amendment would, again…

In the report of the Committee on the Budget with regard to S. 1, when you look at this, you have the CBO estimate, and that is what we are talking about here. And, Mr. President, as you can see, you have all of the information, the steps…

No, but that is an interesting point. You make the point as to why we should not sunset S. 1, because we need to keep this process in place to deal with these issues. It is an interesting point. Again, I would be willing to sit down with…

I believe what the Senator has described--and I must give him a great deal of credit, because he has been very thorough and meticulous on this legislation. For that, I think we have already made some perfecting language that has been…

I am trying to determine what went into coming up with this CBO list and the analysis. But, again, is the requirement to remove mercury a current mandate in your hypothetical?

I think Congress ought to revisit these issues a little more often than simply saying now that we impose this mandate, it is here for infinity.

What sort of adverse impact might that have on competition between the public and private sector?

Mr. President, a few points. No. 1, Senate bill 993, which I was a cosponsor of, principal sponsor last year--it was a very good bill. S. 1, much of the base of that is 993, but it is a new and improved version. I strongly support S. 1…

That is correct, Mr. President. We are certainly supportive of accepting this amendment and would state that I agree with the Senator, that there was no intention to leave out these classes. In fact, we had discussed that they would be…

I must respond to this statement by the Senator from Montana. He is so correct in pointing out that Micron is worth attracting to your State. Micron is an outstanding industry, and I know that because Micron is located in Boise, ID, of…

in summation, may I just say that this vote on cloture does not close off debate. It says we will now have 30 hours of debate but the amendments will pertain specifically to the legislation before us. That is what the American people would…

just in response to that, this concept of having a public hospital, the private hospital, are we going to presume that we would then proceed and only pay for a minimum wage increase on the private hospital?

The vote Senators will cast today reflects their determination to establish a new partnership with our State and local and tribal governments and a better working relationship with the private sector. Mayors and county commissioners…

That is the point, Senator, that is the point. If that scenario were to unfold, No. 1, would it not be very healthy for the Senate to have the information as to what is the cost of that mandate?

I appreciate it very much. Mr. President, I would like to reiterate--I appreciate what the Senator from North Dakota has said and also the leadership he provided in constructing many of the provisions in this legislation, in particular…

I certainly will respect your time. But, Mr. President, that is the point. There is all of this emphasis, all of this discussion on a point of order. At any point--at any point--you may seek a waiver of that point of order. In all…

we also would be very supportive of accepting this amendment. We thank the Democratic side for the agreement. We commend Senator Nickles and Senator Domenici for their work on this. It is an important addition to the bill.

I would suggest to my friend from South Carolina, with a great deal of respect, that I have throughout this day been floating and suggesting unanimous-consent agreements to bring these amendments to the floor. And there has been objection…

Mr. President, yesterday we did a colloquy on the CBO's inability to make a reliable estimate of mandate costs. Senator Levin was concerned primarily that the CBO be given the freedom to not make an estimate. I was concerned that the…

In response to that, it is my hope that we are momentarily away from being allowed to go forward with an amendment, which is from the Democrat side. And, again, as floor manager, knowing the number of amendments that are there, waiting for…

I believe, I say to my friend from Arkansas, that, as you have just stated it, in essence that is what we have provided here. The Senator from West Virginia is correct. We should not give our power away. But we do not. We make that…

on page 12, as you read this, you will note that it does state in parentheses--and this is very important, ``pursuant to criteria and procedures also provided in the mandate legislation.'' In other words, we do not leave this at the…

Again, I appreciate that. Mr. President, to the Senator from Arkansas, I can only reiterate what the process is. The authorizing committee, of necessity, has had to work closely with the appropriate appropriations committee. There has been…

for the past week, the U.S. Senate has renewed debate on the issue of unfunded Federal mandates. Senate bill 1, which curbs unfunded Federal mandates, is a fundamental change in the way we do business in the Congress and it is a…

I appreciate that. Mr. President, the triggering mechanism is on the fund amount. In other words, if they choose the option that it is to provide the funds through a subsequent appropriations bill, and that appropriations bill provides…