Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., Tuesday outlined "a very ambitious schedule" for the month of July that he said will include votes on the next three Mondays and "most Fridays."
Speaking to reporters, Lott reeled off a lengthy list of bills he would like to bring up before the Senate leaves for the August recess July 31, starting this week with the fiscal 1999 VA-HUD appropriations bill, product liability reform and a vote on the IRS reform conference report, which the House approved before the July 4th recess.
Lott listed the following measures as being on deck for Senate action this month: the Legislative Branch, Agriculture, Defense and Interior appropriations bills; the higher education bill, for which a time agreement has been worked out; bankruptcy reform and credit union legislation; Internet gambling legislation; a child custody protection measure; a measure on filling vacant executive branch appointments; healthcare legislation; the cloture vote on the missile defense bill; so-called auto choice legislation; a number of energy bills, which will be considered under a time agreement; and possibly private property rights legislation.
Lott also said he presumes there will be a vote before the end of the year on renewing China's most favored nation trade status--which he said he assumes will pass, although he expects the vote to be tougher than last year due to concerns over controversial technology transfers by U.S. high tech companies to China and possible Chinese interference in the 1996 elections.
When asked about the prospects for moving Africa free trade legislation, which is now before the Senate Finance Committee, Lott said he "would prefer to do" a package of trade bills that would include not only the Africa bill, but a renewal of the president's fast track trade negotiating authority and Caribbean Basin Initiative legislation as well.
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