Kit Bond

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I formally raise a point of order that the amendment violates section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I would inquire if the Senator from North Dakota is prepared to move forward with his amendment? Seeing no other Senators seeking recognition, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BOND. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment on behalf of myself and Senator Murray and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BOND. Under the Ensign-Allen-DeMint amendment, the language requires the IRS to continue the Free File Program, which was created in 2002 as a public/private partnership between the IRS and a group of tax software companies called the Free File Alliance. This partnership has increased electronic tax filing by improving access to filing and making tax preparation and filing easier for taxpayers. This language is not meant to disrupt or override current negotiations or the new agreement. It is critical that the Free File Program and other IRS taxpayer services continue to evolve to meet the needs of taxpayers across the Nation. I ask unanimous consent that I be added as a cosponsor.

Mr. BOND. I ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I call up amendments Nos. 2105, 2106, 2108, and 2120. I send up a modification to amendment No. 2108 on behalf of Senator Voinovich. I ask that they be considered en bloc.

Mr. BOND. I thank the Chair. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I send to the desk two amendments, one on behalf of myself and one on behalf of Senator Reid of Nevada. Mine is technical in nature; the other deals with a heliport. I ask for their immediate consideration en bloc.

Mr. BOND. I ask for their immediate consideration.

Mr. BOND. I move to reconsider the votes.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I send to the desk an amendment on behalf of Senators Durbin and Obama and ask its immediate consideration. This amendment requires the Secretary of HUD to report on a housing project in the State of Illinois.

Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the only amendments in order will be those that are accepted to be in the managers' package. There is a Leahy-Coleman amendment, two amendments from Senator Landrieu. We have two amendments we are going to accept from Senator Coburn. We have an amendment we are accepting from Senator Bill Nelson. Is there objection?

Mr. BOND. And Senator Bingaman's amendment. It is done?

Mr. BOND. The Leahy-Coleman amendment will be one of them.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, we are going to try to resolve these amendments as quickly as possible. I know everyone wants to get out of here. I suggest that perhaps Senator Landrieu can address her amendments very quickly. I am going to talk with Senator Leahy and Senator Coleman, and see if we can resolve those. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOND. No objection.

Mr. BOND. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BOND. Madam President, my colleague from Michigan has an amendment that is a good amendment. Let me say that my colleague from Washington, Senator Murray, and I are hoping to finish business today. I know there are a number of amendments out there that people wish to bring up. We have been able to accept a significant number of them. If you have an amendment pending, please come down this morning and talk to us. I hope we will stay around however long it takes to finish up all of these matters and have a final vote. This bill has to go to conference, if we are to provide 2006 appropriations for the very important agencies covered by this legislation. This is going to be a difficult bill to conference, and we must have this bill finished, ready for the floor, I would hope before the end of this month so that they can get out from under a continuing resolution. But we must get it finished before Thanksgiving. It is vitally important. I urge Members to come to the floor. If they don't want to act on all of their amendments, that will be fine with us. We need to get this bill finished. Congratulations to the Houston Astros On a personal note, I conclude by saying our congratulations to the Houston Astros, who are a magnificent team. They did well. We are looking forward to a great battle between them and the White Sox, a central time zone World Series which many of us in the heartland think is going to be good. The St. Louis Cardinals were magnificent for over 100 games. But Busch Stadium, twice now, has failed us in October. We are going forward today, blowing up the stadium, and I wish I were there to participate. But I wish my colleagues the best, and we are ready to go.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BOND. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate insist upon its amendment, request a conference with the House, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees.