Bill Frist

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 that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, 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 H.R. 4917 which is at the desk.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Governmental Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3478 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST. 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, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 4731 which is at the desk.

Mr. FRIST. 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, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 2023 which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we have had a very long day, a long day yesterday, and a long day the day before--a very, very long day today. We are going to be wrapping up here fairly quickly. But I have a lot of business to go through. So we will go through it, and I will make some comments after that.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Agriculture Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3217, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that on Tuesday, November 16, at a time determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the Democratic leader, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination on today's Executive Calendar, Calendar No. 915, the nomination of Francis Harvey, to be Secretary of the Army. I further ask unanimous consent that there then be 2 hours for debate under the control of Senator Reed of Rhode Island and 1 hour for debate under the control of Chairman Warner; further, that after the use or expiration of that debate time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination; further that following the vote, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment to the concurrent resolution, which is at the desk, be agreed to, the concurrent resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, without any intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 466, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. OK.

Mr. FRIST. Will the Senator yield for a question? It is really an inquiry about tonight's schedule. About how long do you think you will be? You are the last speaker. I know you outlined all the things you will be talking about. Just so I can plan personally.

Mr. FRIST. I can come back later tonight. My son's birthday is tonight. I have been here for the last 3 days. I wanted to plan for my dinner. Again, I can come back later tonight.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 778, S. 1379.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 757, S. 2688.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I agree that's sensible and acceptable to our side.

Mr. FRIST. I have a markedly different view than Senator Daschle about some of his legislative history, but I understand his concern. We do have to get this bill right and our side is committed to that. We have to work together in conference just as we worked together in the committee and on the floor. I have talked with Senator Collins, who will lead the Senate conferees, and she has agreed that she will not pursue a conclusion to the conference, nor sign any conference report, that undermines the bipartisan working relationship that has existed in the Senate. If changes are made to the Senate bill, they will be the result of the mutual, good-faith effort to reach agreement among Senate conferees. Moreover, the Democratic leader has my commitment that should the process break down due to disagreements over either substantive matters or extraneous provisions, then I will not bring a conference report to the floor. We are prepared to make these commitments on our side, but want to be sure that we have your commitment to continue to work with us in good faith on this legislation and to complete action as quickly as possible.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. 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 statement relating to the matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, a good Columbus Day to everyone. We reconvene today for what I expect to be the final day of business before adjournment. Yesterday, we invoked cloture on the conference report to accompany the FSC or JOBS bill. With that vote and the subsequent agreement from last night, we will be able to finish the remaining items before the close of business today. The agreement reached last night provides for a vote on adoption of the FSC conference report at 12 noon. Following that vote, the Senate will vote on the adoption of the Military Construction appropriations conference report and the Homeland Security conference report, along with some other housekeeping matters. As stated last night, we will conduct a rollcall vote on the FSC bill, and all other actions should be completed without the need for further rollcall votes. Therefore, the next vote will be at noon today. That should be the only vote of the day. We will also continue to work through other legislative items that can be cleared by unanimous consent. Again, I thank all Members who were here yesterday as well as Saturday allowing us to invoke cloture on the conference report so that we are now on a glide path to finishing our work today.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on behalf of myself and Senator Specter, I wish to express my appreciation to Senator Cochran, chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, for bringing out of conference $25 million in assistance for 501(c)(3) nonprofits ``determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security to be at high-risk of international terrorist attack.'' I know this was difficult to achieve because the House bill did not have a similar item and due to the loss of the customs users fees as a funding mechanism for our Senate provision. There are a number of compelling reasons for dedicating homeland security funds to nonprofits. First, nonprofits provide vital health, social, community, educational, cultural, and other services to millions of Americans every day. Second, if nonprofits are forced to divert funds to cover the entire cost of security measures, those funds will deplete resources for vital human services, including capacity to respond to disasters. Third, intelligence reports and the 9-11 Commission Report indicate some nonprofits are among the most vulnerable, highest risk institutions. Fourth, nonprofit institutions of all types serve as gathering places for millions of American citizens every day of the year, and finally the security needs of the nonprofit sector have been largely unmet. This assistance is intended for basic security enhancements to protect American citizens from car bombs and other lethal terrorist attacks. This assistance is not intended for facility construction; rather, it is intended to be used for installation of equipment such as concrete barriers, blast-proof doors, Mylar window coatings, security fences and hardened parking lot gates, as well as associated training. The Director of Central Intelligence has stated that al-Qaeda has turned its attention to ``soft targets.'' Terrorists' willingness to attack soft targets of all types has been made readily apparent with attacks in the United States, England, Canada, Israel, Spain, Germany, Iraq, Tunisia, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, and Turkey, including an international Red Cross building, synagogues, schools, and cultural and community centers. It is my intention, as sponsor with Senator Specter of the Senate provision, that the Secretary should issue regulations to ensure that such funds are disbursed in a manner that ensures basic assistance for the maximum number of institutions and are dedicated to protecting Americans operating or utilizing nonprofits from international terrorist attacks and are not used for other purposes. Once again, I commend the distinguished subcommittee chairman, my good friend Senator Cochran, and my distinguished colleague Senator Specter, on their assistance with this vital initiative to protect our Nation's nonprofits. The question is on agreeing to the conference report to accompany H.R. 4567. The conference report was agreed to.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with the Democratic leader.