Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the next vote will be final passage. I congratulate Senators Hutchison and Feinstein for expediting the bill this afternoon. It took the cooperation of all Members and proves that we can move quickly through the appropriations process under the leadership of two managers. As we continue that, we go forward. I also congratulate Senators Bennett and Kohl for their hard work on the Agriculture appropriations bill passed this morning by a vote of 97 to 2. As Members know, the Roberts nomination--again, congratulations to the Judiciary Committee--was reported by the Judiciary Committee today. We will turn to consideration of that nomination on Monday. We will be in session tomorrow. Senators are invited to come to the floor tomorrow, if they would like to make any remarks on that nomination. We will be voting Monday at about 5:30. That will be the next vote.

Mr. FRIST. We will be in a period of morning business tomorrow. I want to accommodate Members on their statements on the Roberts nomination or anything else tomorrow. The vote at 5:30 on Monday will not be on Roberts.

Mr. FRIST

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.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 the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 247, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1764, introduced earlier today.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this bill we just passed provides for the continued education of students who have been so severely affected by Hurricane Katrina. I thank my colleague, the Senator from Texas, Mrs. Hutchison, for her tremendous leadership on this bill. It is a very important bill and a bill that has been a long time coming. We--especially she and her cosponsors--have aggressively worked in this regard to pass this bill. I am happy to yield to her at this time.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1758, introduced earlier today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of Robert Holland, PN447, that the Senate proceed to its consideration, that the nomination be confirmed, that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 249, which was submitted earlier today by Senator Akaka.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 248, submitted earlier today by Senator Akaka.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the HELP Committee be discharged from further consideration and that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 239.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, notwithstanding passage of H.R. 2528, I ask unanimous consent that the two amendments at the desk be agreed to.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. 1692, the Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2005, be star-printed with the changes at the desk.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceeding en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1752, introduced earlier today.

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. FRIST. Mr. President, next week we will begin to debate the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be America's Chief Justice. I am confident it will be a continuation of a process that has been quite dignified and civil. We will continue that momentum as we go through next week. A final vote on his nomination will be held on Thursday, and I look forward to a full and robust debate that brings credit to this great institution. Our duty to advise and consent on the selection of Supreme Court Justices is perhaps one of our most solemn obligations. I thank my colleagues for their continuing hard work in this regard. In summary, the order we have laid out provides that we will begin the Roberts nomination on Monday. We were prepared to have Senators deliver opening statements during Friday's session. However, nobody has come forward with a specific request to speak. Therefore, we will return on Monday and proceed to executive session to begin that debate. I mentioned earlier that we will vote on Monday, and Senators should expect that vote to begin somewhere around 5:30. We are clearing a number of legislative items, and we will announce on Monday what that vote will be. I encourage my colleagues to take advantage of Monday and early Tuesday to speak on the Roberts nomination. Senators should not delay-- please do not--their statements until Wednesday. The vote on the nomination will be next week. We will be prepared to remain in session as late as necessary to accommodate Members' speeches. I know that most all Members will either want to come to the floor or submit their statements to the Record, and we will accommodate them. Again, I encourage them, so we won't have this great rush on Wednesday or Thursday morning, to come Monday and Tuesday and make their addresses.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we have set aside a period of 60 minutes for morning business, which is equally divided to allow Senators to make statements. Following that time, Senators Bennett and Kohl will be here to manage consideration of the Agriculture appropriations bill. Before adjourning last night, the Democratic leader on behalf of Senator Nelson called up an amendment regarding rulemaking on Japanese beef. The managers have had time to review that amendment, and we may be able to set a vote on that issue for this morning. We will be recessing from 12:30 to 2:15 for our weekly policy luncheons, and we expect to vote prior to that recess. I urge my colleagues, once again, to come to the floor and debate their amendments on this bill. If Senators have not contacted the managers about their amendments and no one comes to the floor to propose them, then the managers will be asking for third reading and passage of the bill. We have a lot of work to do this fall. We need to use every day wisely, so Members should not delay with their amendments. I do thank everyone for their help and patience as we go through these appropriations bills.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today we will open with a period for morning business for 60 minutes. Following that time, the Senate will resume consideration of the Agriculture appropriations bill which we began last Thursday. While we have no votes today, I encourage Members who intend to offer amendments to notify the bill managers and begin offering their amendments this afternoon. We will stack votes for Tuesday morning and hope to finish this bill early this week.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.