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Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, momentarily we will take up a unanimous consent request that will accommodate a debate on the farm bill conference report. As I understand it, the distinguished Republican leader is on his way to the Chamber. Let me comment briefly on a couple of scheduling matters.
I know the assistant Democratic leader has talked on several occasions and has offered unanimous consent agreements on terrorism insurance. We would be prepared, once again, to offer a unanimous consent agreement on terrorism insurance, but I hear our Republican colleagues continue to object. We have said on many occasions we are prepared to go to the floor procedurally, have a debate on any one of a number of questions relating directly or indirectly to terrorism insurance, but for whatever reason, our Republican colleagues continue to refuse to allow that debate and that consideration. This has been an ongoing effort.
We have made many attempts to satisfy those certain Senators on the other side who proclaim interest and support for terrorism insurance, but we have been unable to satisfy their obstruction--I use that word with full appreciation of its definition--their obstruction when it comes to an important matter such as this. We will continue to try to talk with our colleagues in an effort to come to some conclusion procedurally, but I must say there is growing frustration on our part that we have not been able to proceed.
The same could be said for the conference report on the farm bill. I have
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We will ask unanimous consent they have 6 hours on Tuesday and 6 hours on Wednesday to talk about a conference report. So we will accommodate that request and we will proceed with that unanimous consent request as soon as the Republican leader comes to the floor.
I have been getting calls today from the administration urging us to complete our work on trade as well. But as my colleagues know, there are those Senators on the other side who currently are filibustering the trade bill, the trade package. So we have a filibuster on trade and trade adjustment assistance, a quasi-filibuster on the farm bill, and I guess you could call it a filibuster on terrorism insurance--at least an unwillingness to proceed to terrorism insurance.
These issues are important. We hear oftentimes our colleagues talk about how they wish we could accomplish more on the Senate floor. I advise my colleagues, this is one reason it is difficult to accomplish more, when we don't get any more cooperation than that.
I do appreciate the work the Republican leader has invested in getting us at least to this point. I am prepared to entertain the unanimous consent request as soon as he comes to the floor.
I might say that the schedule next week will include not only this elongated debate on a conference report relating to the farm bill but the trade bill. The schedule will include, of course, the debate on Tuesday for 6 hours. We will then go back to the trade bill. The debate on the farm conference report will pick up again on Wednesday, beginning at around 9:30. Our expectation would be that we would then complete debate by Wednesday afternoon with, again, the expectation we would come back to the trade bill and attempt to move and consider additional amendments.
Because there are no vote scheduled on Monday, we will be in a pro forma session on Monday. There will be no votes, and I would not expect any debate on the trade bill on Monday.
That is the schedule. My desire is to dual-track other issues as they become available. I realize the possibility is not very significant, but if we could reach an agreement procedurally on terrorism insurance, of course we would bring that up. We have other confirmation questions we would want to raise and certainly would be prepared to have votes on those as well. In addition, as legislation becomes available that does not involve a great deal of controversy, it would be my hope that we could take that up, as well, on a dual track.
I remind my colleagues, we do have to make every effort to accommodate the May 16 deadline on the Andean Trade Preferences Act. If we fail, obviously all of the conditions involving the trade barriers that existed prior to the enactment of TPA kick back in. We would hate to see that. I hope we can avoid that. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Therefore, it is important we use all of that time available to us next week, outside of this consideration of the farm bill, to continue TPA, TAA consideration.
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