Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Government Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2751, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I further ask unanimous consent with respect to 2400, S. 2401, S. 2402 and S. 2403, as just passed by the Senate, that if the Senate receives a message with respect to any of these bills from the House of Representatives, the Senate disagree with the House and its amendment or amendments to the Senate-passed bill and agree to or request a conference with the House of Representatives on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, that the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees, and that the foregoing occur without any intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, with respect to H.R. 4200, which passed the Senate last night, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate insist on its amendment and request a conference with the House of Representatives on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Con. Res. 120, the adjournment resolution, which is at the desk. I further ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to immediate consideration of Calendar No. 590, S. 2322.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this resolution concerns a request for testimony, documents, and representation in an administrative proceeding before the Merit Systems Protection Board. The appellant in this administrative action is challenging his termination from employment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for, among other things, transmitting to the office of Senator Lamar Alexander a written communication threatening to appellant's coworkers. The Corps has requested testimony at a deposition, and, if necessary, at an administrative hearing, of Joshua Thomas, a former employee of Senator Alexander's office who received the communication. Senator Alexander would like Mr. Thomas to be able to provide such testimony and any necessary documents. The enclosed resolution would authorize Mr. Thomas to testify and produce documents in this matter with representation by the Senate Legal Counsel.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 395, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I will just add to the comments of my friend from Nevada that I had the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister a little over 2 weeks ago when we were in Baghdad. I know Senator Daschle and Senator Biden and Senator Graham also had the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister on their recent trip. I mention that because 4 weeks ago nobody knew that he was going to be Prime Minister. In fact, he didn't know. It was not a position that he had asked for. The interim government, through this selection process, asked him to step forward, and he did just that. Uniformly, the people who met him and who have talked with him since he has assumed this position have been impressed with his courage, his determination, and his understanding of the role that is before him. I should also add the distinguished assistant Democratic leader and I had the opportunity to meet with the President of Iraq who will be working with the Prime Minister. He, too, is very impressive in terms of his leadership and his vision, and the boldness we know is going to be required.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I do want to make a very brief statement on this resolution submitted by Senator Daschle and myself expressing the sense of the Senate on the transition of Iraq to a constitutionally elected government. This resolution does a number of things. I will mention a couple. First, it congratulates Iraq on its transition to a free and constitutionally elected government. All of this is in reference to Iraq's assumption of full sovereignty on June 30, which will occur while we are on recess, and its transition to democracy in the months ahead. Secondly, it expresses the Senate's appreciation for the service, courage, and commitment of the Iraqi interim government to a free and a democratic Iraq. It commends all members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families for their noble and courageous service in this cause. It affirms that success in Iraq is a global priority that demands cooperation from all States and international organizations. It calls on the international community to assist Iraq in the training of police and security forces. It calls on NATO to respond positively to Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi's request of NATO to assist Iraq in the training and equipping of Iraq security forces. It urges countries that cannot provide security forces or similar resources to assist Iraq in other ways such as providing financial assistance or forgiving Iraq's debt. The resolution thanks the U.S. coalition partners and other countries that have joined us in Iraq for their efforts in promoting Iraq's security, stability, reconstruction, and transition to democracy. In particular, I also thank Senator Sessions for originating the idea of this resolution and for turning it into real language for his colleagues to consider. He initially proposed such a resolution that provided certain language. At that time, he was working in a bipartisan manner with Senator Lieberman and other Members of both sides of the aisle on this bipartisan resolution. He later joined with Senators Lindsey Graham, Joe Biden, Tom Daschle, and myself--most of us have actually been in Iraq recently--to hammer out a resolution that not only celebrates the liberation of Iraq and its transition to full sovereignty but also prescribes a number of steps that should be taken in the coming months to ensure those fruits of our efforts are realized. I thank Senator Daschle and his colleagues for their help in fine- tuning this resolution so the entire Senate can endorse it. It is a good resolution. The importance of its passage I do not think can be underscored given the fact we are about a week before Iraq's transition to full sovereignty. It sends a timely message, the right message, of thanks to our coalition partners and our support to the Iraqi interim government and the Iraqi people who are endeavoring to defeat terrorism and secure the blessings of democracy.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 397, which was submitted earlier today by Senators Frist and Daschle.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 396, which was submitted earlier today by Senator Santorum.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 4103 at the desk.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to this measure be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this resolution concerns a request for testimony and representation in a criminal case arising out of the Enron debacle. The Enron Task Force of the U.S. Department of Justice has brought a case in Federal court in Texas against six individuals formerly associated with the Enron Corporation and Merrill Lynch. The indictment alleges criminal conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice, and perjury relating to transactions involving electrical- generating power barges moored off the coast of Nigeria. The government is alleging that Enron in essence parked assets with Merrill Lynch to enhance fraudulently Enron's financial statements. This case is being tried this summer in Houston. The transactions at the center of this case were the subject of extensive investigation and a hearing by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Affairs during the last Congress. In the course of the subcommittee's investigation, subcommittee staff interviewed a Merrill Lynch executive, Robert S. Furst, who is now one of the defendants on trial, about these transactions. Last Congress the Senate agreed to Senate Resolution 317, authorizing the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to cooperate with requests from law enforcement agencies for access to subcommittee records from its Enron Investigation. In response to requests for information an assistance, pursuant to this authority the Subcommittee has cooperated with inquiries made by the Justice Department's Enron Task Force. The parties have now asked for authorization for a former subcommittee counsel and a subcommittee detailee who interviewed Mr. Furst to testify, if necessary, at this trial about the information the witness communicated to the Subcommittee at the interview. The chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee would like to assist in this matter, should it prove necessary. According, this resolution would authorize the former subcommittee attorney and the subcommittee detailed to testify at this trial with representation by the Senate Legal Counsel.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 394, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record as if read, without any intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar No. 531, S. Res. 321.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I very much appreciate the comments of the distinguished assistant minority leader. For me to be able to hear that is meaningful. It reminds me also that each piece of legislation we go to, we tend to go through quickly, especially at a late hour, has such a huge impact. It reflects the beauty in what we are able to accomplish by having the privilege of serving in this body.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 592, H.R. 884.