Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. The majority yields back their 2 minutes, and I believe the Democratic side will yield back their remaining time.

Mr. FRIST. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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. 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 proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 162, S. 1382.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 25. 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 there then be a period for morning business for up to 30 minutes, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, with the first 15 minutes under majority control; provided further that the Senate then resume consideration of H.R. 3010, the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. I further ask unanimous consent that at 10:30 the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the Specter amendment No. 2197, with no second-degree amendments in order to the amendment prior to the vote. I further ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess from 12:30 to 2:15 for the weekly policy luncheons.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 1409, which was received from the House.

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 be printed in the Record.

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. Today the Senate returned to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, the final appropriations bill for this fiscal year. Indeed, I thank my colleagues for participating and so systematically going through each and every one of these appropriations bills with this being the last. The two managers are here and are ready to roll up their sleeves on this bill and to keep it moving along. Chairman Specter was here all Friday, last Friday, and all day today. It is now time for Members to come forward with their amendments and not put this off, not postpone, not delay until later in the week. We are going to finish the bill this week. If cloture becomes necessary, we will file that motion at the necessary time. I hope and expect that tomorrow will be a full day with amendments and votes.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning, we will begin consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which is our final appropriations bill for the year. Chairman Specter will begin with an opening statement, and other Members are welcome to come to the floor to open the debate on the bill. I mentioned last night that we would not have any votes today and that the next vote will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Senator Specter is eager to begin the bill, and we ask Senators who have amendments to contact the two managers. Amendments may be offered during Monday's session, and we expect Senators to come forward at that time with their amendments. I also congratulate Senators Bond and Murray for their tremendous work on the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill over this past week. That bill, which passed last night by a vote of 93 to 1, was completed this week because of the two managers' patience and persistence and determination. We do not have many weeks left in this first session and, therefore, I remind Senators that we need to use each day wisely. I hope we will be able to move quickly next week on our final appropriations bill, as we wrap up our budget and appropriations process for the year. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to recognize Barbara Berger, a dedicated Senate employee who is retiring today. Barbara has devoted 33 years to the Office of the Sergeant at Arms in the Senate Recording Studio. She has served 13 Sergeants at Arms. Of the 320 Senators who have passed through these halls during her tenure, only 4 current Members have been ``under the Dome'' longer than Barbara. Throughout her career in the Senate, Barbara has brought strength, passion, and dignity to every aspect of her service. She's seen tremendous change over the years. But through it all, she has remained constant and loyal to this institution. On behalf of the entire Senate, I would like to thank Barbara Berger for her 33 years of service. We wish her the very best in her retirement.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, again, we are absolutely committed to addressing the concerns of both of the Senators in a bipartisan way. I will make it very clear, the legislation and the amendment the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts is talking about did pass in a bipartisan way here. We need to continue to address the problem--a very real problem--to promote small business as a big part--a big part, a huge part--of the rebuilding and renewal that we all know needs to be accelerated.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter dated October 20, 2005, from myself to Senator Stevens be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. For the purposes of the Transportation, Treasury appropriations, I ask consent that the following Members be considered as conferees for Division A of the bill: Mr. Bond, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Specter, Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Burns, Mr. Cochran, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Byrd, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Reid, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. Inouye. I further ask consent that the following members be considered as conferees for Division B of the bill: Mr. Brownback, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Allard, Mr. Cochran, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Inouye.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 260 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to this measure be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1905, introduced earlier today.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 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. FRIST. Mr. President, tomorrow the Senate will begin consideration of our final--our final--appropriations bill for this fiscal year. We will not have any rollcall votes during tomorrow's session, and the next vote will occur Monday evening at approximately 5:30. I do want to congratulate Senators Bond and Murray for getting the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill completed today. And I thank all of my colleagues for allowing the Senate to make orderly, steady progress during today's session. I encourage all Senators to notify the bill managers if they do have amendments to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill as quickly as possible so that we can finish that bill in a timely manner next week.

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 Friday, October 21. 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 the immediate consideration of H.R. 3010, the Labor- HHS appropriations bill. I further ask consent that the committee- reported amendment be agreed to as original text for the purpose of further amendment, that no points of order be waived by virtue of this agreement, and that during tomorrow's session the bill be considered for debate only.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in a few minutes we will resume debate on the Transportation, Treasury, and HUD appropriations bill. We had a full day yesterday, with amendments being offered and voted on and, therefore, we made very good progress. I believe the two managers are looking to wrap up the bill soon, and it is possible we could complete action on the bill during today's session. I strongly believe we can do just that. We have several Senators coming to the floor this morning to discuss their amendments, and I hope the two managers can work with the amendment sponsors or schedule those amendments for votes. Senators should expect votes throughout the course of the day. As I mentioned all week, if we cannot finish the bill today, we will be voting on the bill tomorrow. But I would encourage people to allow us to finish today. We will have done, after we complete this bill, 11 appropriations bills. I thank once again Chairman Thad Cochran for his tremendous leadership, as well as his entire committee, in leading forth on these appropriations bills. We do have one remaining bill, the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, and I plan on going to that bill following the completion of the Transportation-Treasury bill. I thank my colleagues for the progress we have made over the course of the week, and on all these appropriations bills.