Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Madam President, finally, what to expect over the course of the day. The cloture vote will occur here in a couple of minutes. We strongly encourage votes for cloture. You heard the Democratic leader and myself, and you have heard the managers also make the strong case for cloture. Immediately, amendments will be considered that are germane. The focus, hopefully, will be on amendments that have been introduced that are germane, so I encourage those proponents to come forward and talk to the managers immediately. The clock does start ticking as soon as this vote is completed. With that, we have a limited amount of time so we need aggressively to start addressing this, amendment by amendment, on the floor. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs then be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4175 and the Senate proceed to its consideration; provided that all after enacting clause be stricken and the text of S. 2483 be inserted in lieu thereof; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record. I further ask unanimous consent that S. 2483 be returned to the calendar.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, shortly I will go into a quorum call while we wait a few minutes for Senator Talent, but let me thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. We have had a very productive day, a very productive week. We set out with an objective several weeks ago of completing this very important intelligence reform bill. With the cooperation of all of our colleagues, we will complete this bill tomorrow. Following completion of that bill, we will proceed to our internal Senate oversight reforms, and look forward to hopefully addressing that late tomorrow afternoon. There are a number of other issues we laid out in the course of the day that are underway, including the FSC/ETI jobs manufacturing bill and the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. So we have a lot of work to do in a short period of time during the remainder of this week. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, tomorrow morning the Senate will continue debate on the intelligence reform bill. Under a previous order, at 11:30 a.m. there will be a series of stacked votes on amendments to the bill. Following those votes, the Senate will continue working through the remaining amendments to the bill, and Senators should expect votes throughout the day. I remind my colleagues that postcloture debate will expire late tomorrow afternoon. If we use all the remaining time, Senators should expect a stacked series of votes which will include any remaining pending amendments and final passage. It is my hope that we will not use all postcloture debate time. In addition, I encourage Members to work together to dispose of as many amendments as possible in order to avoid a ``mini vote-arama.'' Tomorrow will be a very busy day. I ask all Senators to plan accordingly.

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 Wednesday, October 6. 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 of morning business for up to 30 minutes, with the first half under the control of the majority leader and the second half under the control of the minority leader; further, that the Senate then resume consideration of S. 2845, the intelligence reform bill, as provided under the previous order; provided further that the debate prior to 11:30 be equally divided between the two managers, and that 15 minutes of that time be under the control of Senators Warner and Levin.

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 that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, without further intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 420 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 749, S. Res. 424.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the amendment to the title be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 713, S. 2484.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we will have a short period of morning business until 9:45 a.m. At 9:45 we will proceed to the vote on a motion to invoke cloture on the intelligence reform bill. If cloture is invoked, many of the pending amendments would fall as a result of a germaneness requirement under rule XXII. It is then hoped we will continue to process those germane amendments as we move toward final passage of the bill. It is my hope that cloture will be invoked and we can finish the bill either tonight or early tomorrow morning. The cloture rule, as Senators know, provides for a maximum of 30 hours. Hopefully all the time may not be necessary. Over the course of the morning, as various amendments are looked at, examined, and discussed, we will have a much better feel as to when we can bring closure to the bill. I remind everybody that upon conclusion of this legislation, the Senate will turn to the other arm of intelligence reform, and that is the internal intelligence reform that has been put forth by our distinguished majority and minority whips who have been working with a task force of 22 Senators, appointed by Senator Daschle and myself, to address this significant reform within our own body. Our scheduling is compressed more and more as we move closer to Friday. It will take the cooperation of all Senators to finish our work before adjourning. We have these two important arms of intelligence reform that we will address. There is other legislation that is in conference right now and progress is being made on the FSC/ETI manufacturing jobs bill. Of course, they will be meeting over the course of today as well. We have Homeland Security appropriations which is in conference, and I understand steady progress is being made. Our goal is to adjourn on October 8, but all of this important business must be addressed before then. A lot of people are asking, is October 8 firm? In my mind, October 8 is the goal for us to complete our business, and we can complete our business if we continue the very good work by the managers on this bill, by the task force that is overseeing the development of the recommendations for our internal reform, and the conferences which I mentioned. I thank Members for their cooperation, for working together in a bipartisan way on very important legislation, most of which addresses the safety and security of the American people.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2895, which was introduced earlier today by Senator Talent.

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 this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on October 5, 2004, for a markup on the nominations of Robert N. Davis, to be a Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; Mary J. Schoelen, to be a Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; William A. Moorman, to be a Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; and Robert Allen Pittman, to be Assistant Secretary, Human Resources and Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The meeting will take place in S-216 in the Capitol, immediately following the first rollcall vote of the Senate after 3 p.m.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2896, which was introduced earlier today.

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 this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will speak within morning business. As we move to adjourn at the end of this week, I fear we will lose sight of an important event which will take place at the end of the 108th Congress. Because at the end of this session, the Senate press corps will lose one of the most distinguished and accomplished members of that body. After nearly 25 years of hallway stakeouts, quorum calls, late-night votes, pressing deadlines, takeout food, the Washington Post Senate reporter Helen Dewar plans to leave her position when we adjourn sine die. Before that happens, I believe it is appropriate to recognize Helen's outstanding career during which she has faithfully informed Post readers on the oftentimes complex and intricate actions of this body. Since 1980, Helen Dewar has covered every major Senate debate--from budget battles and judicial nominations to the sweeping intelligence reforms we are making now. But Helen's special talent has been to bring clarity to the day-to-day operations of this body, the Senate. Helen Dewar is known for being tough, persistent, inquisitive, and thorough. Helen's direct style of asking questions gets right to the heart of matter. She never asks an important question just once; she asks until she is satisfied she has gotten as much as she can. Born and raised in Stockton, CA, Helen Dewar earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Stanford University. Her first stint at the Post was filling paste pots for the then-Women's page. She left after one week for a reporting job on the Northern Virginia Sun. she returned to the Post in 1961 as a reporter and has worked steadily in that role since. When Helen was getting started in the newspaper business, women had to struggle to get entry level jobs. It was rare for women to win a job covering politics at the Post back in the 1970s. Helen had to push hard to move from the ranks of the Metro staff to covering Jimmy carter's 1976 campaign, and then to winning the coveted assignment covering the Senate. Helen began covering the Senate in late 1979. When Ronald Reagan swept to victory over President Carter in 1980, the Republicans claimed control of the Senate, and Helen was poised to cover a great story. As the Senate reporter who was also responsible for following the budget, Helen wrote extensively about the Reagan revolution. She covered the battle over President Reagan's 1981 tax cut and the Cold War military buildup. Helen has covered virtually every major story on the Hill during the past 20 years, from Reaganomics to Iran-contra, ethics investigations, the fight over the Gulf War resolution, to the impeachment of President Clinton. During election season, she covered Senate election battles and how they might impact national policy. Helen has reported on the career of seven Senate majority leaders, including Robert Byrd, Howard Baker, Bob Dole, George Mitchell, Tom Daschle, Trent Lott, and myself. The hallmark of Helen's reporting has been fairness, integrity, clarity and scrupulous attention to detail. Helen is regarded by her colleagues as the dean of the Congressional Press Corps. She intently focuses on detail and comes from the school of journalism where the story is more important than the journalist. The hallways of the Capitol and Tuesday stakeouts will not seem the same without her. I offer my warmest wishes to Helen Dewar in all her future endeavors. Her colleagues here on the Hill and in the Post newsroom will miss her. But those who will feel her departure most acutely will be her thousands of readers who, for more than two decades, have looked to her to provide a succinct, unvarnished account of the activities of their elected officials. I yield the floor

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning after a 1-hour period of morning business, we will resume consideration of the intelligence reform bill. In addition to a large number of pending amendments, we anticipate that more amendments will be offered today. As a reminder, the consent reached on Friday did set up a series of stacked votes beginning at 4:15 today. There are currently six votes in order. However, I anticipate other votes will be added to that series as debate continues. In addition, we well may have votes into the evening in order to make progress on the bill. I remind my colleagues that a cloture motion was filed on the bill on Friday and that cloture vote will occur tomorrow morning. It is my hope and expectation cloture will be invoked and that we will be able to finish the bill either tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening, or Wednesday. I say this because, as we all know, this is our last week in session. We will adjourn if we complete both of our intelligence reform efforts on this Friday, October 8. Our goal is to adjourn on Friday, October 8. Before that time, we do need to complete action on both arms of intelligence reform, including that relating to the Senate role on intelligence matters. We have a lot of work before us this week. We all need to prepare for busy sessions. There are a lot of other events that are scheduled over the course of the week. Our focus must be on the business that is before us. Thus, I know everybody will be shifting things around. We need to put a major priority on what goes on here on the floor as well as on several conference reports. In addition to what people will be seeing on the floor, we have the FSC/ETI manufacturing jobs bill that is currently in conference. There will be a lot of activity this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow in that conference. I am hopeful we will be able to address that conference report sometime this week. Homeland Security appropriations is also in conference and progress is being made there. That was the first bill we did when we came back 4 weeks ago. It is important that we complete it, especially since our goal is the safety and security of the American people. That bill directs the spending aspects of homeland security. The underlying bill we have been on now for a week and a half, and we have been studying the issue aggressively in response to the 9/11 Commission report. We have made huge progress, and all of our colleagues have worked together, on both sides of the aisle, on this very nonpartisan issue. I thank all of our colleagues for participating and working with such focus in an expeditious and a bipartisan manner. The American people thank you. I thank you. The leadership on both sides of the aisle thanks you. We have no greater duty in this body than protecting our Nation and in strengthening our intelligence system. We are meeting that responsibility. As we have said at the outset, when the Democratic leader and I set out this path, it was because, when we leave on October 8, although we will have in all likelihood a little bit of business to take care of, in truth October 8 really brings to a close most of the activity, almost all of the activity, it would be inexcusable not to deal with these important issues on intelligence which affect the safety and security of the American people. If we were unable to finish that, because it means we would not be able to address it until next year, that would be unpardonable. To date, the Senate, in this bill, has addressed 35 of the 39 recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Those are the 39 recommendations that deal with executive branch reorganization. The remaining recommendations will be addressed this week. The Senate has covered a full range of issues: establishing a national intelligence director to manage the Nation's intelligence community, to advise the President; creating a national counterterrorism center to maximize our intelligence-gathering capabilities and maximizing our counterterrorism activities; redefining the national foreign intelligence program to better coordinate and unify the functions of our intelligence agencies; strengthening and reforming the CIA, the FBI, and other intelligence-related agencies; and ensuring that winning the war on terrorism is our top priority. There were two additional reforms suggested by the Commission concerning Senate oversight of intelligence and homeland security and, as I mentioned, the Senate will be considering these two remaining recommendations this week. It is going to be a very full week, but the Democratic leader and I agree that getting this done now must be our top priority. We are making real progress on the Senate floor. We are on the home stretch. We have another 5 days, beginning early today, and I am sure we will use all 5 days to the fullest sense. We have to have these major reforms completed this week. I thank my colleagues for staying on task. I thank the managers of the bill in particular, Senators Collins and Lieberman. They and the Parliamentarian and staff have been working solidly through the weekend. The managers have shown real leadership. These reforms clearly will protect America and make a safer and really more prosperous America because of the increased security that people can feel with a maximally performing intelligence system.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Monday, October 4. 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 that there then be a period of morning business for up to 60 minutes, with the first 30 minutes under the control of the minority leader or his designee and the second 30 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee; provided further that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 2845, the intelligence reform bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator McConnell I now ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments be set aside, and I call up amendments Nos. 3930 and No. 3931, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. 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 related to this bill 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. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5105, which is at the desk.