Susan Collins

Ms. COLLINS

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

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, for the benefit of my colleagues, I want to explain how we are going to proceed. Obviously, Senator Baucus made his unanimous consent request. I didn't anticipate that when we were ordering the speakers earlier. We are going to go to Senator Santorum for the purpose of an amendment, but he will only take 3 minutes, and then we are going to go to Senator Obama for his amendment, and then I am going to propose on behalf of Senator Voinovich an amendment he has worked out with the Presiding Officer.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I raise a point of order against the Reid amendment because it violates section 302(f) of the Budget Act.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, we have had a lot of amendments offered on the Democratic side, and there are Republican Senators who are eager to come to the floor--Senator Coburn, Senator DeMint, Senator Voinovich--to complete the action on their amendments. I thought we had an understanding that we were going back and forth, but instead we seem to be doing Democratic amendment after Democratic amendment after Democratic amendment. So until I get some clarification on how we are going to proceed, I do object.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, then I am going to have to object to the Senator proceeding at this time because we have proposed that all three amendments that deal with the scanning or screening of cargo be considered together, including the amendment of the Senator from New Jersey. If we can get an agreement where we could consider and debate all three amendments and then have three consecutive votes on those amendments, then I would not object. But if we cannot get that agreement, then I do object.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, it is interesting to hear my friends on the other side of the aisle talk about the 9/11 Commission and then imply that the Reid amendment would finish the job of the 9/11 Commission. In fact, as I pointed out earlier, over 100 pages of the 507-page Reid amendment already are law. They are the foreign policy and public diplomacy recommendations that were recommended by the 9/11 Commission and included in the Intelligence Reform Act which became law 2 years ago--2 years ago. Many of the other recommendations of the 9/11 Commission were enacted as part of that legislation. Now, there is one area where the 9/11 Commission did recommend changes that have not been completely made, and that is in the area of congressional oversight and the reorganization of committees. Instead, the Senate and the House adopted some, but not all, of those recommendations. But, ironically, the amendment proposed by the Democratic leader does not deal with that unfinished recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. So I don't want to leave the impression that the 9/11 Commission's recommendations are what are largely found in this amendment; they are not, other than the more than 100 pages on the foreign policy and public diplomacy recommendations, which are already law and have been for almost 2 years. The fact is, our country has made tremendous progress in strengthening our security since 9/11. We have taken many actions, and if we talk to the experts, they will all tell us that those actions have made a difference. Are we completely safe? Of course not. We can never say that we are completely safe, but we are clearly safer than we were 5 years ago due to actions taken by this Congress, this administration, and State and local law enforcement. We have a ways to go, and the underlying bill on port security will help advance the security of this country. So for the reasons I have already spoken on extensively today, I hope that our colleagues will vote to sustain the point of order which I will shortly be raising against Senator Reid's amendment. It does violate the Budget Act, and I will be raising a point of order against it. But aside from the budget issues, the procedural objections, I hope my colleagues will actually look at the Reid amendment and look at what it does contain. If they do, they will find only one reference in it to port security--only one reference in it to maritime and cargo security. They will instead find page after page of policy that this Senate has already rejected with regard to our engagement in Iraq and the policy on the formula for homeland security grants. They will also find legislation that is already law, and they will find amendments that we have already adopted having to do with rail and mass transit security. So, unfortunately--and I mean this--sadly, this amendment is simply a partisan hodgepodge of provisions that have been cobbled together. I hope we can dispense with it quickly and then move back to the port security bill, an enormously important bill, a bill that many of us have worked on for years, a bill that has been bipartisan from the very start in both the House and the Senate. That is unusual, as the Presiding Officer knows. This bill is an exception to the rule. But, apparently, we couldn't quite get through the floor debate without having a partisan bomb lobbed at this bill, and I think that is unfortunate. But I hope once we get through this, we can go back to bipartisan consideration of relevant and germane amendments and we can get this work done. This is a gap in our homeland security. When we talk to the experts, they all tell us they are worried about the security of our seaports and the 11 million shipping containers that come into this country each year. We have a carefully crafted, balanced bill that strikes the right balance between the need to strengthen security and the need to facilitate trade. Again, I recognize the work that Senator Murray has done on this bill. She originated a lot of the concepts in this bill. It has been that kind of bipartisan partnership that has brought us to where we are today. So let's get this partisanship out of the way, and let's return to a bipartisan debate. This bill is so important to the security of people living near our seaports, to those working on our seaports, to the retailers in this country that rely on the cargo brought into our seaports, to our farmers who rely on shipping their crops out of our seaports. Let's remember the impact of this bill on communities not just on our coasts where the seaports are located but communities all across this country that rely on the products brought to our shores by cargo ships, or rely on the cargo ships to export these products. So I hope we can return to the underlying bill. It is a good bill, and it deserves continued bipartisan support. Could the Presiding Officer inform me how many minutes are remaining on our side?

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

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, has all time expired under the time agreement?

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. COLLINS. That will be fine. I yield the Senator 5 minutes.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Ohio.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, first I would inquire through the Chair of the Senator from Illinois whether he has modified his amendment. I didn't hear a request that it be modified.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I will be happy to yield time to the Senator from South Carolina, depending on how much time he needs.

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

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. COLLINS

Mr. COLLINS. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the Senator from Minnesota, and I retain a minute for myself.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Kansas, the distinguished chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum, and I ask unanimous consent that the time be charged equally to both sides.

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

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the Coleman amendment.

Ms. COLLINS

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 13, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed briefing.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet Wednesday, September 13, 2006 from 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. in Dirksen 562 for the purpose of conducting meeting.

Ms. COLLINS. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to hold a Business Meeting on Wednesday, September 13, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. to consider the following agenda: Legislation: H.R. 5689, To amend the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users to make technical corrections, and for other purposes; S.1848, Cleanup of Inactive and Abandoned Mines Act; S. 3630, To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize a program relating to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, and for other purposes; H.R. 3929, Dana Point Desalination Project Authorization Act; S. 3617, North American Wetlands Conservation Reauthoriiation Act of 2006; H.R. 5061, Paint Bank and Wytheville National Fish Hatcheries Conveyance Act; S. 3551, Tylersville Fish Hatchery Conveyance Act; S. 3867, To Designate the Federal Courthouse at 555 Independence Street, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, as the ``Rush H. Limbaugh Sr., Federal Courthouse''; H.R. 5187, To Amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to authorize additional appropriations for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for fiscal year 2007; S. 3879 ``Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage Contingent Cost Allocation Act''; S. 2348, Nuclear Release Notice Act of 2006; and S. 3591, High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006. Nominees: William B. Wark to be a Member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; William E. Wright to be a Member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; Stephen M. Prescott to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation; Anne Jeannette Udall to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation; Brigadier General Bruce Arlan Berwick to be a Member of the Mississippi River Commission; Colonel Gregg F. Martin to be a Member of the Mississippi River Commission; Brigadier General Robert Crear to be a Member of the Mississippi River Commission; and Rear Admiral Samuel P. DeBow, Jr. to be a Member of the Mississippi River Commission. Resolutions: Committee Resolution for the Republican River Basin-- Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas; Committee Resolution for Beverly Hills, New Haven, Connecticut; Committee Resolution for Hanover Pond; Holly Pond; and Eisenhower Park--Connecticut; Committee Resolution for Mystic Harbor Water Resources Development--Mystic, Connecticut; Committee Resolution for the Burns Waterway Harbor--Indiana; Committee Resolution for Jefferson Parish Flood Control, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; Committee Resolution for the Blackstone River Watershed--Massachusetts, Rhode Island; Committee Resolution for the St. Clair River, Lake Level Study--Michigan; Committee Resolution for the Crow Creek Watershed-- Cheyenne, Wyoming; Committee Resolution to direct GSA to prepare a Report of Building Project Survey; 12 resolutions to authorize the majority of the remainder of the General Services Administration's FY 2007 Capital Investment and Leasing Program; and 8 resolutions authorizing courthouse projects.

Ms. COLLINS. 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 Wednesday, September 13 at 11:30 a.m. The purpose of this meeting is to consider the nominations of John Ray Correll to be director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Mark Myers to be director of the United States Geological Survey, and David Longly Bernhardt to be solicitor of the Department of the Interior.

Ms. COLLINS. 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 September 13, 2006, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on ``The Housing Bubble and its Implications for the Economy.''