Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the remaining military nominations that were reported by the Armed Services Committee and are at the desk.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, October 31. I further ask consent that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate proceed to a period for the transaction of morning business, with the time equally divided until 4 p.m. I further ask unanimous consent that the Senate then proceed to S. 1932, as under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, next week, the Senate will consider the deficit reduction bill, a bill I spoke on in my opening comments today, a bill about which I am very excited. It answers the question of doing what is right, what the American people expect, and that is getting our deficit down, reducing the deficit by slowing down, by reducing that mandatory or entitlement spending growth. We will complete action on that important measure on Thursday or Friday. We will have a very long day on Thursday. I encourage our colleagues not to schedule anything else on Thursday because we will be voting a lot on the floor of the Senate and will do so in the fashion that we voted this week--having votes scheduled and strictly cutting off votes if Members are not here. Under the time agreement that was reached last night, we will have plenty of time for debate each day with many votes over the course of the week. I urge my colleagues--and I feel I say this again and again-- to be judicious in their offering of amendments. We will work with our colleagues on the time. We want to have and will have plenty of time for debate and amendments. We do not need to bring every amendment to the floor to make a message when it is pretty clear what the outcome will be. Again, we will protect everybody's right and opportunity to have full debate and vote accordingly, but I ask people to judiciously consider what amendments they bring to the floor. Next week we will also address the Agriculture appropriations conference report under a very short time agreement. We will also address any other conference reports available, as well as executive nominations that are ready for Senate action.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, over the course of the weekend, the Capitol will be busy. As people know, on Tuesday of this week, civil rights icon Rosa Parks passed away in her Detroit home at the age of 92. Throughout her life, she was a champion, an activist, a true hero, and has left a legacy that all of us will carry forward and pass on to our children and future generations because of that simple act--not so simple act, but that dramatic act of refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus that was the was the catalyst for that historic civil rights movement that and remade our Nation. Last night, it was our honor in this body to pass a resolution to allow the remains of Rosa Parks to lie in state on Sunday and Monday in the Capitol Rotunda. The House is expected to ratify a similar resolution today. Citizens from all around the country and really all around the globe, I am sure, will come to pay their respects. Rosa Parks will be forever etched in history as a testament to how one person with courage can literally change the world. Although shortly we will be closing, at this time, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning the time until 10 a.m. will be equally divided for debate prior to the cloture vote. That cloture vote is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. promptly. We will be on the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. We started that bill now 6 days ago, last Friday. Senators have had ample opportunity to debate and offer amendments. Therefore, I expect that we will invoke cloture this morning. Once cloture is invoked, the chairman can begin the process of bringing that bill to a close. If we work together and Members are reasonable with their requests for amendments, we will be able to finish the bill tonight. If we are unable to get passage of the bill tonight, then we would return to session tomorrow and stay on the bill with votes until completion. That gives added incentive for people to finish it today, but we will be here tomorrow to vote if we do not finish it tonight. Today we may also receive the Agriculture appropriations conference report from the House, and I will be talking to the Democratic leader about the scheduling for consideration. Finally, we have some Executive Calendar nominations ready for Senate action, including a couple of judges. We need to dispose of those nominations as soon as possible. Withdrawal of Nomination of Harriet Miers

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, over the last several minutes, Harriet Miers has formally requested to withdraw as a nominee to serve as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. I had a conversation with Ms. Miers early this morning, and she told me that it was last evening that she spoke to the President and formally requested her nomination to be withdrawn. She stated clearly to me this morning and in a letter, which I will refer to shortly, that she felt that withdrawal was in the best interest of the United States. She came to this decision on her own, based on what she has experienced and witnessed and with the requests that are currently being made and as she projected forward to the hearings, again, in the best interests of the country. This morning she was gracious and forthcoming, confident, expressed appreciation for all of the work that has been done to date in the Senate and asked me to express that to each of the Senators, asking me to say thank you for their individual courtesy over the past several days and weeks. As one may expect, she was disappointed but confident and upbeat. Earlier this morning, following that, I did talk to the President. It is appropriate, because things are moving so quickly for me, to quote from her letter, again, to use Harriet Miers' own words. As this is addressed by the political pundits and the commentators over the course of today, I think it would be helpful for our colleagues to hear directly what Ms. Miers sent to the President. October 27, 2005. Dear Mr. President: I write to withdraw as a nominee to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. I have been greatly honored and humbled by the confidence that you have shown in me, and have appreciated immensely your support and the support of many others. However, I am concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country. As you know, members of the Senate have indicated their intention to seek documents about my service in the White House in order to judge whether to support me. I have been informed repeatedly that in lieu of records, I would be expected to testify about my service in the White House to demonstrate my experience and judicial philosophy. While I believe that my lengthy career provides sufficient evidence for consideration of my nomination, I am convinced the efforts to obtain Executive Branch materials and information will continue. As I stated in my acceptance remarks in the Oval Office, the strength and independence of our three branches of government are critical to the continued success of this great Nation. Repeatedly in the course of the process of confirmation for nominees for other positions, I have steadfastly maintained that the independence of the Executive Branch be reserved and its confidential documents and information not be released to further a confirmation process. I feel compelled to adhere to this position, especially related to my own nomination. Protection of the prerogatives of the Executive Branch and continued pursuit of my confirmation are in tension. I have decided that seeking my confirmation should yield. I share your commitment to appointing judges with a conservative judicial philosophy, and I look forward to continuing to support your efforts to provide the American people judges who will interpret the law, not make it. I am most grateful for the opportunity to have served your Administration and this country. Most respectfully, Harriet Ellan Miers. Those are her words, and I think they are very direct. I did have a chance to talk to the President moments ago. He says that he accepted this withdrawal. Harriet Miers will continue as White House counsel, of course. And I believe that we can expect another nomination in the very near future. I will be talking to Chairman Specter a little bit later this morning. I yield the floor. Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I congratulate both the chairman and ranking member for a tremendous job. This next vote is on passage of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, the very last of our series of appropriations bills that have come before the Senate. Again, congratulations to Chairman Cochran and Senator Byrd and again the chairman and ranking member on this bill. We will be in session tomorrow. However, we will have no rollcall votes. On Monday, we will begin consideration of the deficit reduction bill, and we are working on a schedule of debate for that measure. I do not expect to have votes on Monday. We will not have votes on Monday, but Senators should be aware that next week will be a busy week on the deficit reduction bill. Senator Specter has set a high mark with rollcall votes, and people have come to the floor on time. We are going to continue to encourage-- in fact, require--that. I encourage Senators to be ready for quick rollcall votes throughout next week. This is the last vote tonight. There are no votes tomorrow and no votes on Monday.

Mr. FRIST. I greatly appreciate the Senator's commitment to this issue. It is imperative that this Congress exercise fiscal discipline and I concur that an important step must be to control spending, while securing our Nation's defense. Next week, the Senate will do just that as we act on the first deficit reduction package in a decade. I am certain that the Senator from Oklahoma will continue to pursue his efforts. There will be ample opportunities, including the deficit reduction bill, for him to exercise his rights to do so, in a manner that does not violate the spirit of the Senate rules. I look forward to him bringing this important issue before the Senate in the future. Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, tomorrow the Senate will continue consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. There will be a cloture vote on the bill at 10 a.m. I encourage Members to invoke cloture so that we can expedite passage of this final appropriations bill this year. Once cloture is invoked, we should be able to conclude the amendment process and move to final passage tomorrow.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 27. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3010, the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, and the time until 10 a.m. be equally divided between the majority and minority. I further ask unanimous consent that at 10 a.m., the Senate proceed to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture. I further ask that Senators have until 10 a.m. to file second-degree amendments.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we have set aside the first 30 minutes for a period of morning business. We will then proceed to consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. Senator Specter has commitments from several Senators this morning to come offer their amendments. In addition to those to be offered, we already have several pending from yesterday. We will be calling rollcall votes throughout the course of today to dispose of these amendments, and we will announce when Senators can expect those votes. I remind my colleagues that a cloture motion was filed last night on the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. That cloture vote will occur on Thursday morning. Under rule XXII, Senators have until 1 o'clock today to file their first-degree amendments at the desk. We will finish this bill this week. It is up to the Senate to decide if we are going to be here late Thursday or Friday, but we will finish the bill. If Senators are reasonable in their requests for amendments and debate times, we may well be able to finish tomorrow; if not, we will continue on Friday to finish this final appropriations bill. Again, I congratulate all of our colleagues for sticking together and systematically going through each of the appropriations bills over the last several weeks.

Mr. FRIST. That is correct. We will continue working today. Again, I want to restate the conversation that the distinguished Democratic leader and I had yesterday regarding these votes over the course of the day. We want people to come over on time so we can proceed in a disciplined, orderly way. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask consent that at a time determined by the majority leader, with concurrence of the Democratic leader, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1042, the Defense authorization bill, and it be considered under the following limitations: All of the pending amendments be withdrawn and the bill be considered as follows: the only first-degree amendments in order be up to 12 amendments to be offered by each of the two leaders or their designees; provided further that the amendments be within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services or relevant to the underlying bill; further, that these amendments be subject to second degrees which are to be relevant to the amendment to which they are offered; provided further that first-degree amendments be limited to 1 hour of debate equally divided in the usual form, with any second degrees limited to 30 minutes of debate equally divided; provided further that the only other amendments in order other than the above-listed amendments be those managers' amendments which have been cleared by both managers of the bill. I further ask that there be 2 hours of general debate on the bill divided between the two managers. Finally, I ask consent that at the expiration of that time and the disposition of the above amendments, the bill be read the third time and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage of the bill as amended, if amended, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am pleased we were finally able to reach a consent agreement on this very important bill that we have attempted to address more fully twice in the past, the Defense authorization bill. This will allow the Senate to return to the bill and complete it in a timely manner, in an orderly manner, with the amendments that are relevant to the issue at hand; that is,the issue of providing for our armed services. We will look for an appropriate window of time to resume the bill. I believe, under the guidance of the experienced chairman and ranking member, we should be able to complete that bill within 2 or possibly 3 days. I thank everyone for working so hard to bring us to this point, for their patience and cooperation, and allowing us to go forward with this agreement, and I look forward to completion of that Defense authorization bill.

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

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 288 submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations on today's Executive Calendar: Calendar Nos. 370, 371, and 373. I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and finally the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 282 and that the Senate proceed to its consideration.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 26. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate then proceed to a period for morning business for up to 30 minutes, with the first 15 minutes under the control of the minority, and the final 15 minutes under the control of the majority. I further ask that the Senate then resume consideration of H.R. 3010, the Labor-HHS appropriations bill.