Kent Conrad

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I will address colleagues on my side for a moment to say we still have 27 amendments pending. This would be a wonderful opportunity, while we are waiting to work things out, for colleagues to come down and voluntarily give up their amendment in the interest of the whole body. What a good way to end the evening, to have a few more amendments given up so we could finish by our goal of 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. I am making the offer. We will be here. We will be in business, and we will be eagerly awaiting our colleagues who want to give up amendments this evening.

Mr. CONRAD. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

Mr. CONRAD. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, this amendment is a nongermane amendment. It is subject to a 60-vote point of order. We have brought that order under the Budget Act. I hope my colleagues will support that point of order. This would require fully expedited procedures beyond even what reconciliation provides. I hope our colleagues will reject this amendment on a point of order.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to indicate to our colleagues and to the manager of the bill that there will be a second-degree amendment to Senator Allen's amendment as well, so everybody is on notice with respect to how that amendment will be treated. Amendment No. 201

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the budget resolution does not determine any specific tax policy. All of us know that. This does not eliminate the marriage penalty or anything else. It simply adds $69 billion to the tax cut, which raids the Medicare trust funds in each of the years I previously referenced.

Mr. CONRAD. The Senator had 1 minute.

Mr. CONRAD. The Senator from Texas already spoke.

Mr. CONRAD. Parliamentary inquiry: On whose time is the Senator from Texas proceeding?

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the amendment of the Senator from Texas because after doing an analysis of the amendments previously agreed to and passed, it is very clear that this amendment will raid the Medicare trust fund. We can't accept an amendment that would do that. I am asking colleagues to oppose this amendment because it raids the Medicare trust fund in the years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. I yield the floor.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

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

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, this is a nongermane amendment. As a result, this is subject to a 60-vote point of order. This amendment has some parts that are good, but, unfortunately, it also contains a fatal flaw. It would establish a 60-vote point of order against all emergency designations, both defense and nondefense. I don't think we want to set a precedent here that we require supermajority points of order to respond to a defense emergency or a natural disaster emergency. I urge colleagues to defeat the amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, we are willing to accept those mentioned amendments as well, the Bond-Mikulski amendment and the Dodd-Collins amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CONRAD. We believe we have an agreement to go to a voice vote on the amendment by the Senator from Alaska.

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

Mr. CONRAD. Might I ask that we take the Senator's vote on a voice vote? Would the Senator accept a voice vote?

Mr. CONRAD. But it is in the form of a second degree. I think we have also in every one of these circumstances but one----

Mr. CONRAD. So the amendment of the Senator from Alaska would normally be considered as the first vote.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the amendment of the Senator from Alaska was an amendment in the second degree. Normally that would be the first vote.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, let me ask colleagues, we are going to have to exercise discipline tonight or we are going to have chaos. This is just as clear as it can be. So, please, let's try to be quiet while Senators are speaking, and let's try to restrict debate so that we can finish. The manager and I believe, given the fact that none of us have seen the amendment of the Senator from Alaska, that it would be appropriate to give him another minute to explain his amendment, and another minute on the side of the Senator from New Jersey in response. We ask unanimous consent for an additional minute for the Senator from Alaska and an additional minute for the Senator from New Jersey.

Mr. CONRAD. That is correct.