Congressional Record UNUM

E PLURIBUS

United States

of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 104th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

S 6575

Senate

(Legislative day of Monday, May 1, 1995)

Vol. 141 WASHINGTON, FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1995 No. 79

The Senate met at 9:30 a.m., on the

expiration of the recess, and was called

to order by the President pro tempore

[Mr. THURMOND].

PRAYER

The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John

Ogilvie, offered the following prayer:

Let us pray:

Lord God, You are infinite, eternal,

unchangeable, and the source of wisdom, holiness, goodness, and truth.

Today we want to hold together two

Biblical admonitions. We are told that

the fear of the Lord is the beginning of

wisdom but also that we are not to

fear. Help us to distinguish between

the humble awe and wonder that opens

us to the gift of Your guidance, and the

negative panic that so often grips our

souls.

Give us a profound reverence in Your

presence that keeps us on the knees of

our hearts. May we never presume that

we are adequate for a day’s challenges

until we have received Your strength

and vision. Give us the confidence that

comes from trust in Your reliability

and resourcefulness. You never let us

down and constantly lift us up.

Lord, liberate us from all minor fears

that haunt us: the fear of hidden

memories, the fear of imagined failure,

and the fear of what is ahead. We may

not know what the future holds, but we

do know that You hold the future. In

the name of Him whose constant

watchword is ‘‘Fear not, I am with

you!’’ Amen.

RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING

MAJORITY LEADER

fThe PRESIDENT pro tempore. The

acting majority leader is recognized.

SCHEDULE

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, this

morning the leader time has been reserved. The Senate will immediately

resume consideration of S. 534, the

solid waste disposal bill.

Senators should be aware that rollcall votes will occur this morning at 10

o’clock on invoking cloture on the substitute amendment to the solid waste

bill.

As a reminder, Senators will have

until 10 o’clock this morning to file

any second-degree amendments to the

substitute. Further amendments are

expected to the bill, therefore, additional rollcall votes are anticipated

throughout today’s session of the Senate.

The majority leader has indicated

that the Senate may also be asked to

turn to consideration of H.R. 483, the

Medicare select bill.

INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE ACT

fThe PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.

THOMAS). The Senate will resume consideration of S. 534.

The clerk will report the bill.

The assistant legislative clerk read

as follows:

A bill (S. 534) to amend the Solid Waste

Disposal Act to provide authority for States

to limit the interstate transportation of municipal solid waste, and for other purposes.

Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

clerk will call the roll.

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. STEVENS. 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. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask

ORDER OF PROCEDURE

funanimous consent that I be permitted

to make an announcement concerning

hearings without regard to the pending

bill.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

FEDERAL PENSION REVIEW

fHEARINGS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, several

months ago there was an expression of

interest in the subject of congressional

pension reform raised by my good

friend from Nevada, Senator BRYAN.

His concern about the subject, which

was raised here on the floor, was supported by the majority leader, and

there was concurrence that it would be

appropriate to schedule hearings later

in the year on this subject.

Mr. President, to address the concern

raised by Senator BRYAN and the majority leader, I wish to announce that

the Subcommittee on Post Office and

Civil Service, which I chair, has scheduled hearings on Federal pension plans

for Monday, May 15, and Monday, May

22, at 2 p.m. They will be held in room

342 of the Dirksen Building.

The May 15 hearing will be devoted

to the mechanics of Federal pension

plans, including their application to

Congress, and a review of proposals for

modifying congressional pension coverage. The May 22 hearing will be a

broad discussion of Federal plans, and

will include a comparison with private

sector pension plans. GAO will review

the considerable research which they

have compiled in this area.

There are several goals to these hearings which include taking a close look

at congressional pension coverage; assessing the merits of the differential

between this coverage and standard

Federal pension coverage; and reviewing the Federal pension systems to determine if changes need to be made

which would enhance the current

plans, and also protect the financial

soundness of these systems.