Dick Lugar: “I appreciate the arguments made by the distinguished Senator. It would appear to this Senator, however, that the…”

“I appreciate the arguments made by the distinguished Senator. It would appear to this Senator, however, that the objectives of the Harkin amendment are already met on the statute books. The reason I have suggested that the amendment creates confusion is that it might subject the current law to reinterpretation. To that extent, it seems to me that this amendment is not productive, except of potential confusion and difficulty. Very clearly, current statutes are against fraud, unjust practices, and abusive activity in contracting. I say to the Presiding Officer, the groups I cited, that at least a good number of members who are subject to the competition section, as the distinguished Senator from Iowa has pointed out, and this part of it in particular, object for good reason and cite this is going to be disruptive at least in terms of their operations and capital flow in what they are doing. For those reasons, I do not perceive the necessity for the amendment and ask Members to vote in opposition.”