Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 388

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, Senator Kohl has indicated a very impressive list of cosponsors who ask that the Senate agree to this amendment. I know of no other request for time to debate the amendment. I do not want to cut off any Senator, but we are prepared to go to a vote on the amendment if there are no Senators who wish to debate.

Mr. COCHRAN. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I make a point of order that the amendment is not germane.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask for the regular order with respect to amendment No. 537.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I make a point of order that the amendment is not germane.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased, on behalf of the leader, to present the following agreement that has been cleared. I ask unanimous consent that the only remaining amendments to the bill be the Ensign amendment No. 487 and the Bayh amendment No. 520; provided further, that all time be considered expired under rule XXII, with the exception of 15 minutes prior to the votes; provided further, that on Thursday, at a time to be determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the Democratic leader, the Senate resume consideration of the bill and that there be 15 minutes for debate equally divided between the chairman and Senator Bayh or his designee prior to votes in relation to the remaining amendments, and that following the disposition of the amendments, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage, with no intervening action or debate; finally, I ask unanimous consent that following passage of the bill, the Senate insist on its amendments, request a conference with the House, and the Chair be authorized to appoint the Appropriations Committee as conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. COCHRAN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, the Senator from Oklahoma offered an amendment No. 471 relating to the Embassy in Iraq. We have had a discussion of that amendment. I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to table the amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays. And I ask unanimous consent that the vote be ordered to occur at 1:45.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I make a point of order that the amendment is not germane.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the motion to table was agreed to.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. COCHRAN. I make the point of order that the amendment is not germane.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to send a modification of amendment No. 517 to the desk and that it be reported.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a response to that statement?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I send to the desk another modification to amendment No. 425, in behalf of Mr. Bennett.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 342, As Modified

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am happy to assure the Senator we will have an opportunity to vote on any amendments that require votes. There are some Senators who are off the premises right now and I ask they be given some notice so they can get back. We will confer with the leader and I will consult with the Senator from Illinois. I thank the Senator for his assurances. REAL ID Act Madam President, I rise in opposition to the REAL ID Act. The REAL ID Act is a measure the House Republicans attached to the supplemental appropriations bill. It has little or nothing to do with appropriations for tsunami victims, or appropriations for our men and women in uniform. It is a separate immigration matter, and a very controversial one. They chose this bill because they know we need this bill. It needs to be signed by the President. So they are hoping to push through this change in immigration law on a bill that is a must-pass bill. We have had no hearings, no debate, no votes in the Senate on this so-called REAL ID Act. The Senate Republican leadership has stated it is opposed to including this act in the appropriations bill. I hope they mean it. The test will come when this bill returns from the conference committee. I want to take a couple minutes to explain why the REAL ID Act is something we should debate. The proponents of this act claim it is simple, that all it wants to do is prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses. Several States across America have decided, in their State legislatures, to allow the issuance of State driver's licenses to people who are not documented. You know the argument: Those people are going to drive anyway. It is better they are licensed, that they clearly have demonstrated they can drive a truck or a car, and they have insurance. Now, we can get into that debate, and it would be an interesting one, as to whether those States have made the right decision. This bill says all the States that have decided to issue the driver's licenses are wrong. So it would prohibit those who are undocumented from receiving driver's licenses. If that were the only issue, it is one we could debate for a little while and decide whether we ought to preempt all of these State legislatures. But this bill does so much more. The REAL ID Act would mean real big problems for the States and a lot of people. It imposes very difficult standards for driver's licenses on the States. When we passed the intelligence reform bill, we carefully crafted language--bipartisan language--to establish standards for States issuing driver's licenses. We did not tell the States who could receive a driver's license. That has always been a State decision. But we required that the Federal Government work cooperatively with the States to create minimum Federal standards for driver's licenses. Standards will be established for, among other things, documents presented as proof of identity, fraud prevention, and security features included in driver's licenses. The REAL ID bill goes far beyond this intelligence reform provision. Its impact will be felt by every American when they go in for a driver's license. It requires that the State DMV verify every document, including birth certificates, presented by every applicant, including American citizens. This means significant expense and long processing delays. If a State, incidentally, fails to comply with the REAL ID provisions included in the House bill, no resident of that State--listen to this carefully--no resident of that State will be able to use their driver's license for Federal purposes. So what would that mean? The most common form of identification in an airport is a driver's license. If you have been on an airplane, you know it. People bring out their driver's license. This provision coming over from the Republican House says if your State does not comply with this law, if you are a resident of that State, you cannot use your driver's license to get on an airplane. What will you use? If you have a passport, I guess you could use it, but many people do not have a passport. So it goes way beyond what it needs to do to make certain we have secure driver's licenses. As I mentioned earlier, we have already addressed the issue of driver's license security in the intelligence reform bill. The Federal Government is already meeting with State governments to negotiate new minimum Federal standards for driver's licenses. The REAL ID Act would stop this process dead in its tracks by repealing the driver's license provision in the intelligence reform bill. Incidentally, the REAL ID Act is opposed strongly by the States. Every Senator has received a letter opposing the REAL ID Act from the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. They have said clearly, this REAL ID Act will ``impose technological standards and verification procedures, many of which are beyond the current capacity of even the Federal Government.'' Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have this letter printed in the Record.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following list of cosponsors to the Corzine amendment be printed in the Record.