Unanimous Consent Request--Calendar No. S. 3405

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. 670, S. 3405. I further ask that the committee-reported substitute amendment be withdrawn; the Johnson substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. I am happy to respond.

The Senator from Delaware is well aware that we have been working. We have already agreed on three improvements from your standpoint. We increase the frequency of inspections for companies participating in CFATS recognition programs. We have added a third-party study to look at how workers can be made more aware of the fact that their facilities are covered by CFATS. We had a future GAO study to look back at how our provision exempting explosive materials covered by both CFATS and ATF is affecting the program.

We are already making movement. If you want to discuss this for a few more days, fine. Time is, obviously, running out.

I do want to make everybody aware of the fact that because we have done this work, because we have passed this out of our committee unanimously, I am not in any way, shape or form, accepting some of the typifications in terms of the fact that we have not communicated. We have been trying for months to work with the House. There has just been no yield whatsoever. There has been no give whatsoever. There has been very little desire on its part to do anything other than to have a ``take it or leave it,'' a ``let's extend this,'' a ``no reforms.'' That is, simply, unacceptable to me.

I have great respect for President Ronald Reagan. I don't want to prove him wrong. I, actually, want to reauthorize this thing. Yet if we can't come to an agreement with a reformed, reauthorized CFATS Program, I am more than willing to prove Ronald Reagan wrong when he said, to paraphrase, that the closest thing to eternal life on this Earth is a government program. I will let the program expire because I really do not think it really enhances the security of our Nation. It, certainly, has not been proven in that way, and without reforms, I am happy to let this program go by the way of the dinosaur.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. Will the Senator yield?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. Again, I am happy to do that, but we have not had that kind of engagement. Right now, there is, basically, a gun to my head, threatening me to take it or leave it. That is not collegial, and that is not a very high-integrity approach. I am happy to sit down. Let's continue working on this thing. This program needs reforms. We have done the work, and I think that work needs to be recognized and respected. Again, let's sit down and get our staffs together on this, and let's reauthorize and reform the CFATS Program.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. Will the Senator please yield?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. Had the House put an ounce of effort--of work--into this, I would have something to respect, but they have done nothing other than, basically, just to threaten me with these types of tactics. So, again, let's work together. Let's provide a product that we can present to the House and that they can pass.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I am not withdrawing my unanimous consent request. He can object to it, and we will work with him, but I will not consider that the final say. We will work in very good faith to come up with something better and come back to the floor, hopefully, with a bill that we have agreed to.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON. The objection is taken in that spirit.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source