Transcript: Daschle Blocks Effort to Present China Proliferation Bill
(Daschle keeps Thompson Amendment off Intelligence bill)The Senate Minority Leader blocked efforts by the Senate Majority Leader July 21 to allow Senator Fred Thompson (Republican of Tennessee) to bring up a bill he drafted that would penalize China for its proliferation activities.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (Republican of Mississippi) had planned to allow Thompson to offer his bill as an amendment to the Intelligence authorization bill scheduled for consideration July 24, but Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat of South Dakota) objected to Lott's request for unanimous consent.
Thompson, chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced the China Nonproliferation Act, legislation that would penalize China for weapons proliferation activities, in May of this year.
The China Nonproliferation Act, co-sponsored by Senator Robert Torricelli (Democrat of New Jersey), would establish a mechanism to review China's behavior annually with regard to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the Tennessee lawmaker has said.
Thompson had indicated that he was willing to have his bill taken up either independently or as an amendment to another piece of legislation.
While he has said he is willing to abide by the outcome of such a vote, Thompson has warned that if he is not given an opportunity to present the bill he could offer it as an amendment to H.R. 4444, the bill that would grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status.
The Democratic leadership has sought to block Thompson's bill until after a vote is taken on PNTR, fearing that if Thompson's bill passed or was attached to PNTR, it would compromise efforts to pass legislation this year granting PNTR to China.
President Clinton has said that getting PNTR legislation passed this year is his top legislative priority for his final year in office.
"It seems to me that if we can get the intelligence authorization bill up, that would be an appropriate place for this issue to be considered, so that we can move to the PNTR for China issue on Wednesday (July 26)," Lott told fellow senators.
"I would like to have been able to deal with Senator Thompson's very meritorious amendment, either freestanding or as an amendment before we go to the China PNTR issue because I think he is going to be constrained to offer it as an amendment to the bill," Lott said.
Offering it as an amendment to H.R. 4444 "would be difficult," the Senate Majority Leader said, "because if it should be approved, of course, it would have to go on the bill and it would go back to conference and the House would have to consider it again."
Senator Thompson said that "it is well known that we are looking for a way to get a vote on the important issue of proliferation."
The Tennessee Republican said that proliferation and trade were separate issues, but added that "while we need to extend our trade relationship with China, at the same time, we need to demonstrate to them and to the world that they must do something to improve their habits in terms of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
The bill, Thompson said, would not affect agriculture, and would not affect businesses, "except in those narrow circumstances when a business may be dealing directly with a known and determined foreign proliferator. At that point, it is not too high a price to ask our American businesses not to deal with those kinds of companies."
The Senate is set to recess on July 28 until after the Labor Day Holiday in the United States September 4. The Senate is then scheduled to be in session September 5-28 and October 2-6, then will go into recess until after the November presidential and congressional elections.
Following are excerpts from the July 21 Congressional Record transcript:
(begin excerpts)
UNANIMOUS-CONSENT REQUEST
(Senate - July 21, 2000)
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that after conclusion of the 6:00 p.m. vote or votes, if any, on Monday, the Senate proceed to the intelligence authorization bill, S. 2507, and following the reporting by the clerk, Senator Thompson be recognized to offer an amendment.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, can the majority leader give me his latest report with regard to the hearing in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday?
Mr. LOTT. I have been in contact through senior staff, the top staff of Senator Hatch, with a suggestion of how we could proceed on that and get that information back to Senator Daschle. I did that, I guess, about an hour ago. I have not gotten a response back from them yet. But if I don't get one pretty quick, I will pursue another call to see if we can work that out.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I will be constrained to object at this time, with the hope and expectation that we can get a much larger and more comprehensive unanimous consent agreement later in the afternoon. So I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, let me say again, of course, judicial nominations are important to the country on both sides of the aisle. I guess in the Senate everything is related to everything else. But who the hearings are on in Judiciary doesn't directly affect this bill. We need to get the intelligence authorization bill done.
Once again, this is important to the national security of our country. There had been some objections to it, but we have worked through those, and it took a lot of give and take and cooperation on both sides because there were objections on both sides of the aisle. We have cleared that.
Regarding the amendment I pointed out of Senator Thompson, I have been looking for any number of ways to have this very important matter of nuclear weapon proliferation by China reviewed. Senator Thompson has been very helpful and willing to withhold, or to consider any number of options as to how that would be considered. It seems to me that if we can get the intelligence authorization bill up, that would be an appropriate place for this issue to be considered, so that we can move to the PNTR for China issue on Wednesday. We are going to do that anyway. But I would like to have been able to deal with Senator Thompson's very meritorious amendment, either freestanding or as an amendment before we go to the China PNTR issue because I think he is going to be constrained to offer it as an amendment to the bill. That would be difficult because if it should be approved, of course, it would have to go on the bill and it would go back to conference and the House would have to consider it again. Perhaps, there will be enough votes to defeat it, but I, for one, do not feel constrained to vote against an issue of this significance. I think it is a legitimate argument that this is a national security and nuclear proliferation issue that should maybe be considered separate from the trade issue, but it is related to how we are going to deal with China in the future.
So, again, Senator Daschle objected with the recognition that we are working on another angle or issue. We will try to get that worked out, and then we will try again later this afternoon on this issue. Rather than me controlling the floor for the debate, I think it would be best at this point if perhaps I would yield the floor, and perhaps Senator Thompson and Senator Hollings, who are very interested in this issue, could speak on their own time.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hagel). The Democratic leader is recognized.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, let me say this to the majority leader before he leaves the floor. He and I have spent more time than we probably care to calculate over the last couple of days trying to work through what is obviously a very complicated and difficult period. I have appreciated his good nature as we have done this, his patience, his tolerance. He is smiling now, which is encouraging to me. I am going to keep smiling, too. I hope we can accommodate this unanimous consent request for the intelligence authorization. As Senator Lott, I recognize that it is important, and I hope we can address it.
I also hope we can address the additional appropriations bills. There is no reason we can't. We can find a compromise if there is a will, and I am sure there is. But we also want to see the list of what we expect will probably be the final list of judicial nominees to be considered for hearings in the Judiciary Committee this year. I am anxious to talk with him and work with him on that issue. All of this is interrelated, as he said, and because of that, we take it slowly. So far, we have been able to take it successfully.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee is recognized.
Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader and the minority leader for trying to work out these complicated matters. There is, understandably, some interrelationship. I think it is well known that we are looking for a way to get a vote on the important issue of proliferation. It should not be considered to be a trade issue. It is an issue separate and apart. Many of us believe it is extremely timely because of the trade issue, and that while we need to extend our trade relationship with China, at the same time, we need to demonstrate to them and to the world that they must do something to improve their habits in terms of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Every day, we see in some media outlet a further indication that the Chinese are intent upon continuing their proliferation habits, as long as we support Taiwan and as long as we perceive a national defense system.
I hope the objection is not based upon the desire by the Democratic leader to prevent a vote from happening on the issue of China's proliferation. Just as the majority leader and the Democratic leader have been working together, so have the staffs been working together across the aisle to try to bridge some of the differences on this bill. We have made changes to the bill to accommodate some of the concerns. This bill will not affect agriculture; this bill will not affect business, except in those narrow circumstances when a business may be dealing directly with a known and determined foreign proliferator. At that point, it is not too high a price to ask our American businesses not to deal with those kinds of companies. That is what this is about.
So now that the majority leader has set a date for a vote on PNTR, I certainly hope we will be able to rapidly reach a date prior to that when we can vote on the important issue of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Although trade, being as important as it is, it pales in comparison with the national security of this Nation.
I yield the floor.
(end excerpts)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Return to The United States and China.Return to IIP Home Page.