Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

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

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I have requests to make on behalf of managers of the bill with respect to amendments that have been cleared on both sides of the aisle. Amendment No. 401 I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator McConnell.

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

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I do not know of any other Senators who intend to debate this issue. I would like to put an exclamation point on the statement made by the distinguished Senator from Texas though. One thing that is clear, if we do not have a permanent facility there, an improved facility, we are going to have to keep more U.S. personnel there guarding and maintaining the security of this facility. If we use the funds the administration is requesting, approve the request the administration has submitted to the Congress, then we will be able to use a lot of the people who are there now for other purposes elsewhere in the war on terror to help better defend the country and make sure we are safeguarding the security interests of the American people. This is not to help prisoners have a better deal, even though the facility will be more humane and easier to care for and to deal with, but it will be more secure, and it will help us reallocate resources that will benefit our national security interests. That is the point. This is money well invested. The administration is requesting it. Our subcommittee chair supports it after reviewing the request. So I think the Senate should support the committee and what it has recommended and reject the Byrd amendment.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I appreciate the cooperation of all Senators in getting this agreement. Senator Byrd has offered an amendment on which the yeas and nays have been ordered, but we will not vote on that amendment until others who wish to speak on the amendment have an opportunity to do so. That will occur at any time. If we do complete debate on the Byrd amendment prior to 1:45, that could be something we could consider adding, but at this point we are not prepared to make that announcement. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I am pleased to advise the Senate that we have been able to reach agreement on a series of votes that will occur at 1:45. I am authorized by the leadership on both sides to propound this unanimous consent request. I ask unanimous consent at 1:45 p.m. today the Senate proceed to a series of votes in relation to the following amendments: Durbin No. 356; Kerry No. 333; Kerry No. 334; provided further that no amendments be in order to these amendments prior to the votes, and that prior to the Durbin vote Senator Stevens and Senator Durbin be allocated 5 minutes each to speak; further, that there be 2 minutes equally divided for debate prior to each vote; finally, that all votes after the first be limited to 10 minutes each.

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to table.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, we are preparing to seek unanimous consent that we have a series of three votes that will begin at 1:45 p.m. today. These will be on or in relation to the Durbin amendment and the two Kerry amendments which are pending before the Senate. We hope to be able to reach agreement on this consent request so Senators can be advised very soon that that will be the order of the Senate. That still leaves, of course, the amendment of the Senator from West Virginia which we will have an opportunity to discuss separate and apart from these three that will be voted on. Then we will seek to deal with that amendment in the regular order. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

Mr. COCHRAN. The yeas and nays have been ordered on the underlying amendment. I ask the yeas and nays be vitiated.

Mr. COCHRAN. 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. We have under the order a vote, now, on two Kerry amendments, Nos. 333 and 334. Is there time for debate?

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

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Wednesday, April 13, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. on ``Securing Electronic Personal Data: Striking a Balance Between Privacy and Commercial and Governmental Use.'' The hearing will take place in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226. Witness List Panel I: Deborah Platt Majoras, Chairman, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC; Chris Swecker, Assistant Director for the Criminal Investigative Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC; Larry D. Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Investigative Division, U.S. Secret Service; Washington, DC; and William H. Sorrell, President, National Association of Attorneys General, Montpelier, VT. Panel II: Douglas C. Curling, President, Chief Operating Officer and Director, ChoicePoint Inc., Alpharetta, GA; Kurt P. Sanford, President & CEO, U.S. Corporate & Federal Markets, LexisNexis Group, Miamisburg, OH; Jennifer T. Barrett, Chief Privacy Officer, Acxiom Corp., Little Rock, AR; James X. Dempsey, Executive Director, Center for Democracy & Technology, Washington, DC; and Robert Douglas, CEO, PrivacyToday.com, Steamboat Springs, CO. THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. select committee on intelligence

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 13, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. COCHRAN. 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 ``Less Faith in Judicial Credit: Are Federal and State Marriage Protection Initiatives Vulnerable to Judicial Activism?'' for Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 2 p.m. in SD-226. Witness List: Mr. Lynn Wardle, Professor of Law, Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Provo, UT; Mr. Gerard Bradley, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, IN.; and Dr. Kathleen Moltz, Assistant Professor, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 13, 2005, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on ``The Federal Home Loan Bank System.''

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions meet in executive session during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 13, 2005, at 10 a.m. in SD-430. THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. to hold a business meeting to consider pending Committee business.