Kit Bond

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, October 20, 2005, at 10 a.m., on Domestic Passenger and Freight Rail Safety.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, October 20, 2005, at 2 p.m., on pending Committee business. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Co- Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, have rescheduled this week's Full Committee mark-up for Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 2 p.m., previously scheduled for Wednesday, October 19, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. The mark-up is open to the public. A location for this mark-up will be announced when available. Following is the agenda, not necessarily in order of consideration: S. __ , The DTV bill; S. 1753, The Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act; S. 967, The Truth in Broadcasting Act of 2005; and S. 1063, The IP--Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2005.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 20 at 2:30 p.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1016, to direct the Secretary of Energy to make incentive payments to the owners or operators of qualified desalination facilities to partially offset the cost of electrical energy required to operate the facilities, and for other purposes; and S. 1860, to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to improve energy production and reduce energy demand through improved use of reclaimed waters, and for other purposes. committee on foreign relations

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 20, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on Nominations.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 2 p.m. in SD-430.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, October 20, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. for a hearing titled, ``Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans: A Flooded City, a Chaotic Response.''

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, October 20, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. in Senate Dirksen Office Building Room 226. Agenda I. Nominations Susan Neilson to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; John Richard Smoak to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Florida; Brian Edward Sandoval to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Nevada. Harry Sandlin Mattice, Jr. to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee; Margaret Mary Sweeney to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims; Thomas Craig Wheeler to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims; Wan Kim to be an Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division; Steven G. Bradbury to be an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; Sue Ellen Wooldridge to be an Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division; and Thomas O. Barnett to be an Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division. II. Bills S. 1088, Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005, Kyl, Cornyn, Grassley, Hatch; S. 1789, Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005, Specter, Leahy, Feinstein, Feingold; S. 751, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act, Feinstein, Kyl; S. 1326, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act, Sessions; S. 1086, A Bill to Improve the National Program to Register and Monitor Individuals Who Commit Crimes Against Children or Sex Offenses, Hatch, Biden, Schumer; S. 956, Jetseta Gage Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes Against Children Act of 2005, Grassley, Kyl, Cornyn; S. 1699, Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act, Specter, Leahy, Hatch, DeWine, Cornyn, Brownback, Feingold; S. 1095, Protecting American Goods and Services Act of 2005, Cornyn, Leahy; H.R. 683, Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005, Smith--TX; S. 443, Antitrust Criminal Investigative Improvements Act of 2005, DeWine, Kohl, Leahy; S. 1787, Relief to Victims of Hurricane Katrina and Other Natural Disasters Act of 2005, Vitter, Grassley, Cornyn, DeWine; S. 1647, Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005, Feingold, Leahy, Durbin, Kennedy, Feinstein; and S. , Budget Reconciliation [Chairman's Mark].

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 20, 2005, for a committee hearing titled ``IT Management by the VA: Is it Ready for the 21st Century?'' The hearing will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building at 10 a.m.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 20, 2005 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed briefing.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs be authorized to meeting during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 20, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a hearing on U.S. Foreign Policy, Petroleum, and the Middle East.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``An Examination of the Constitutional Amendment on Marriage'' on Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 2 p.m. in SD226. Witness List: Panel I: Scott FitzGibbon, Professor of Law, Boston College, Boston, MA; Christopher E. Harris, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN; Louis Michael Seidman, John Carroll Research Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC; Richard Wilkins, Professor of Law, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT; Christopher Wolfe, Professor of Political Science, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be dispensed with.

Mr. BOND

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank my friend, the Senator from Washington. There are other amendments that are going to be offered, and at the appropriate time I will ask this be set aside so further amendments can be offered. I yield the floor.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank my colleague for bringing this forward. As I mentioned, this is an appropriations bill. It is a very important subject he has raised, but I raise a point of order under rule XVI that this is legislation on an appropriations bill.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this measure be set aside so we can work out a time for a vote on the measure.

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank my colleague. I believe there are some on this side who will want to respond. I hope we can get a tight timeframe because we are going to be very busy this week. We have to finish this measure. Amendment No. 2113 Mr. President, now, since it appears we are going to be having some action today, I ask unanimous consent that we bring up the amendment filed this morning, amendment No. 2113. I believe it can be adopted by a voice vote, with Senators who wish to speak on it permitted to speak during time later on today.

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

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues and I look forward to action on the bill.

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

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, we are going to clear a number of amendments, including the amendment by the Senator from Iowa. The ranking member and I were going to clear a number of amendments and agree to them one at a time. Did the Senator have a very brief statement which he wants to make on that or does he want to speak for a longer time?

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, on that assumption, we will defer to the Senator from Iowa.

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

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

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Akaka.

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