Haley Stevens: “I again apologize to the Senator from Nevada. I thought he had completed his statement. I want to read to the Senate the…”

“I again apologize to the Senator from Nevada. I thought he had completed his statement. I want to read to the Senate the comments I made in 1996 at the time the point of order was pending on the FAA conference report, just to show I have maintained a constant position with regard to this. I said this: Mr. President, this is a rather difficult situation. We have just passed, recently, a Defense appropriations bill. I was the chairman of that conference. Before it was over, we had a whole series of other bills, a series of legislative items. It was not necessary to raise a point of order. Everybody knew we had exceeded the scope of the conference. Now, this is 1996. I am again quoting: I ask any chairman of a conference if he or she has ever really been totally restricted by this rule? . . . When the leader became aware that Senator Kennedy was going to raise this point of order, the leader determined to raise it himself. I take it that having done that, there is no question this is a rather significant occasion. I hope it will be a rather narrow precedent. I point out to the Senate that this provision is not only the only matter that exceeds the scope of the conference. We had to include, at this administration's request, special authority for the executive branch to purchase and deploy explosive detection devices. We put in here the provisions that pertain to the rights of survivors of victims of air crashes.…”