S6198 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 5, 1995

to special interests. That was voted

down, on a virtually party-line vote.

At that time, the majority leader indicated that he intended to take up

this legislation by the end of May, or

sometime in May.

Then I came back with a sense-ofthe-Senate resolution which would

have simply put the Senate on record

saying that we will take this up by the

end of May. That too was voted down.

I said, wait a minute. The majority

leader just said that he intended to do

this, so let’s put the whole Senate on

record that by May we will have this

legislation back on the floor for full

consideration. Let us have a vote to affirm what the majority leader had just

said was his intention, because I just

had this sort of feeling that people

were going to continue to delay and

delay, as had been done in the past.

Mr. President, let me just be clear.

Now it is May and nothing has happened; zero, zippo, nada, nothing has

happened. No hearings have been held.

No bills have been introduced. Nothing

to my knowledge on the gift ban legislation is scheduled for floor consideration any time soon.

So the question is: Where is the majority party on this issue, where are

the Republicans with their version of

gift reform? Since 37 Republicans, including the majority leader, already

cosponsored at the end of last year the

same provisions that we offered in January and will offer again, as I said, as

soon as we have an appropriate vehicle

on the floor, what changes do they intend to make in this bill? Do they intend again, as some did last year—to

try to gut the provisions of the charitable vacation travel to golf and tennis

hot spots like Vail, Aspen, Florida, or

the Bahamas where Members are wined

and dined as guests of lobbyists and

other special interests? Because, if

they intend to try to gut those provisions, we intend for there to be a major

debate. We cannot pass something saying we are not going to take gifts with

these huge gaping holes and loopholes.

Do they intend again to try to hollow

out gift ban reforms by just slightly

lowering the thresholds for expensive

meals, sports tickets, and other gifts

paid for by special interests here in

Washington so that they can say they

are for reform? That would be symbolic

politics at its worst.

Let me just simply say to you, Mr.

President, this is an idea whose time

has come, and come, and come again. I

have been working on this for just over

2 years now, and the real standard for

gift ban reform is a tightened-up bill

that Senator LEVIN and I, Senator

FEINGOLD and Senator LAUTENBERG,

put forth in January. We will come to

the floor and we will offer tough gift

ban legislation. I believe the overwhelming majority of Senators, Democrats and Republicans alike, should

support it. We really have had extensive bipartisan support in some overwhelming votes for this legislation.

But each time along the way somebody

or some group of Senators figures out a

way of sidetracking it.

The time is long past due for this reform. I think people in this country

really are in a reform mood. And any

Senator or Representative who believes

that campaign finance reform or lobby

disclosure or gift ban is just something

that so-called good government groups

are interested in, they are wrong. People want us to represent them well.

They want this political process to be

open and accountable. And many people, too many people, believe, and unfortunately I think they are right, that

too few people have too much access to

Senators and Representatives, and too

many people, the vast majority of people, are left out of the decisionmaking

loop, left out of the equation.

It is really time to get back to this

reform agenda and finish up our work

in this area. There are three critical

parts, all of which I intend to one way

or another help bring to the floor of

the Senate for debate. One is campaign

finance reform. That is fundamental.

Another is the lobby disclosure, on

which Senator LEVIN has taken a key

leadership role. The other is the gift

ban, where I will continue to work with

Senators LEVIN, LAUTENBERG,

FEINGOLD, and others.

I look forward to that debate. We will

have that amendment out here on the

floor soon and I think people in the

country, whether they are Democrats,

Republicans, or Independents, will hold

us accountable.

I look forward to this debate. I look

forward to this vote. I urge my colleagues to support our tough, sweeping

gift ban legislation. I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence

of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

clerk will call the roll.

The bill clerk proceeded to call the

roll.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

Chair, in his capacity as a Senator

from the State of Vermont, asks unanimous consent that the order for the

quorum call be rescinded. And without

objection, it is so ordered.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

RECESS UNTIL 12:30 P.M.

fChair, in his capacity as a Senator

from the State of Vermont, asks unanimous consent that the Senate stand in

recess until the hour of 12:30 p.m.

today.

There being no objection, the Senate,

at 11:36 p.m., recessed until 12:30 p.m.;

whereupon, the Senate reassembled

when called to order by the Presiding

Officer (Mr. G

fRAMS).

COMMONSENSE PRODUCT LIABILITY AND LEGAL REFORM ACT

The Senate resumed consideration of

the bill.

Pending:

Gorton Amendment No. 596, in the nature

of a substitute.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

pending question is the Gorton amendment numbered 596 to the bill H.R. 956.

In my capacity as a Senator from

Minnesota, I suggest the absence of a

quorum.

The clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to

call the roll.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I ask

unanimous consent that the order for

the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I ask

ORDER OF PROCEDURE

funanimous consent that I might proceed for 15 minutes as if in morning

business.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I

thank the Chair.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I just

TWO U.S. SENATORS

fwant to say a few words about two U.S.

Senators, one recently deceased and

one recently embarked on a spirited

new part of life, both of them dear

friends of mine—Senator John Stennis

of Mississippi and Senator DAVID

PRYOR

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, SenSENATOR JOHN C. STENNIS

of Arkansas.

fator Stennis served with my father in

the U.S. Senate. My father, Milward L.

Simpson of Wyoming, served here from

1962 until 1966. He was a former Governor of Wyoming from 1954 until 1958,

then came to the U.S. Senate, elected

to fulfill a 4-year term, or remaining 4-

year term, of a young man who had

been elected to the Senate and died before he was sworn in. John Stennis and

Mrs. Stennis immediately greeted my

father when he came here in the most

cordial way. They were very dear

friends of my parents.

I must say that the philosophy of the

western Senator, my father, and the

southern gentleman, the Senator from

Mississippi, were much the same with

regard to national defense, fiscal matters, issues of substance in the social

area, of the fabric of the country, and

they became fast friends. I recall very

distinctly my father called John Stennis ‘‘Mr. Integrity.’’

My father invited John Stennis, Senator Willis Robertson, and two other

persons to Wyoming. I recall very distinctly. I was a young man practicing

law in Cody, WY, and they asked me to

join them. Dad took his two Senate

friends fishing. You might imagine

that John had not ever seen too much

of Rocky Mountain trout fishing nor

the attire that accompanies such activities. I will never forget him coming

from his cabin, very nattily dressed,

and he said, ‘‘Milward, is this what we