Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, that is my understanding.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that during an executive session beginning next Wednesday, each hour beginning on the hour of the executive session be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees and that any time not used by either side during the designated hour be given to the other side of the aisle.

Mr. FRIST

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, before we close I need just a couple minutes in case we can do one more brief piece of business, and then we will close very shortly. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 1 p.m., Monday, November 10. 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 for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin consideration of H.R. 2799, the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill, as provided under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate concur in the House amendment, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Chair now lay before the Senate a message from House of Representatives on the bill (S. 313) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a program of fees relating to animal drugs.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

Mr. FRIST. I object to further proceedings on the measure at this time.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we would bring it up the early part of next week.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as I said earlier, I renew my request as made because it is very important that people who have worked very hard on MILCON, out of respect for them and those managers, be here and they make the appropriate speeches and response in support of this bill.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as you can tell, we have a very busy week next week. I will comment a little bit more on the schedule shortly and we will be doing MILCON and Syria as well as many other things over the next several days.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we will immediately resume consideration of the Internet tax moratorium bill. Last night, many colleagues remained in the Chamber to debate the underlying legislation and an amendment that we hope will be offered shortly--as a matter of fact, most of the same Senators are already here this morning and are prepared to resume this important debate. We will proceed with that shortly. We do want to take a moment to comment on the schedule. Today, it is my expectation to have votes on the Internet tax moratorium and to finish that bill. The tax moratorium expired last week, and I believe it is important for us to work through any amendments and vote on passage of that bill today. With the cooperation of all Senators, we will be able to complete our work on this bill at an early hour this afternoon. It would also be my intent to begin consideration of the Commerce- Justice-State appropriations bill as soon as possible. We must continue to make steady progress on these appropriation bills in order to complete our work by November 21. Senators can expect votes throughout the morning and afternoon as we work through the end of the Internet tax bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, although we did not have any rollcall votes today, I do want to assure my colleagues we made progress on the Internet tax moratorium bill. I understand there are serious negotiations that are continuing and that we hope we can get an agreement on that legislation and finish it at the earliest time. Earlier this week, we passed H.R. 3289, the Iraq-Afghanistan appropriations conference report, and that measure has now been signed into law by the President of the United States. We also adopted the Agriculture appropriations bill, as well as the Interior appropriations conference report this week. The Interior appropriations bill will now be sent to the President for his signature. Chairman Shelby, working with many Members on both sides of the aisle, finished work on the fair credit reporting bill. The bill had overwhelming support, and it is expected that a conference report will return in short order. This week the Senate also passed H.R. 3365, the military tax fairness bill. This bill, which is also called the Fallen Patriots Tax Relief Act, will assist members of our Armed Forces in providing some much needed clarity and fairness with respect to tax policy. We also reauthorized, this week, the School Lunch and Child Nutrition Program. Chairman Cochran brought this bill to our attention, and we were able to act quickly. I mention it today to show that we continue to try to do our work efficiently and to make progress on a number of important issues. This bill cleared both sides and will become law. Senator Collins, as chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, cleared S. 589, the Homeland Security Federal Workforce Act. This bill will promote job retention in areas of national security by providing student loan payments. These are just a few of the areas, and I think very good examples, where we can continue to work together in a collaborative way. The remaining weeks of business will be difficult. There will be many contentious issues to address as we go forward. The American people clearly want us to get our work done. They expect us to get our work done. As I mentioned earlier, we are aiming for this target date of November 21.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that H.J. Res. 76, which is at the desk, be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. The plan would be to go to it after we finish the Internet tax bill. So we would like to go to that bill today. If it is very late, of course, we will start early Monday morning.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the Democratic leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 2799, the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill.

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 be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. 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, this resolution concerns a request for testimony, documents, and representation in related criminal trespass actions in Arapahoe County Court in the State of Colorado. In these actions, five defendants have been charged with criminally trespassing on the premises of Senator Wayne Allard's Englewood, CO, office on April 24, 2003. Upon its closing that day, the defendants refused repeated requests to leave Senator Allard's office, and, as a result, were arrested. Trials on the charge of trespass are scheduled to be held on or about December 8, 2003. The State has subpoenaed a member of the Senator's staff who witnessed the defendants' conduct. The enclosed resolution would authorize that staff member, and any other employees of Senator Allard's office from whom evidence may be required, to testify and produce documents in connection with these actions. The enclosed resolution also authorizes representation by Senate Legal Counsel of Senator Allard and his staff in these actions.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today the Senate will begin 60 minutes of morning business. Following that 60-minute period, the Senate will proceed to executive session for the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 310, the nomination of William Pryor to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit. At the conclusion of that debate time, the Senate will proceed to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture on that nomination. I do hope cloture will be invoked and that this qualified nomination could then receive an up-or-down vote of the Senate. If cloture is not invoked, the Senate will resume consideration of the Agriculture appropriations bill. We made good progress on that bill yesterday, and I hope we can complete that appropriations bill at an early hour today. We will have rollcall votes throughout the day. A number of Members have inquired about scheduling. I made it clear that it will be important, for us to achieve a departure day of November 21, for us to work 5 days a week, and we will be voting on Mondays and Fridays as we go forward. It is likely that once we complete Agriculture, we will go to the Internet tax bill, and then I hope we can complete that in a reasonable period of time and we will follow that with the appropriations bills and will continue to address the VA-HUD bill at some point and Commerce-Justice-State. I am working very hard to try to get these appropriations brought across the floor, debated, and completed in a reasonable time.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this resolution concerns representation by the Senate legal counsel of Senator Rockefeller and an employee in his office, who have been subpoenaed to provide testimony and office records at depositions in a civil business dispute in Dallas County, TX. The subpoenas are seeking information about communications between the defendant business jet aircraft company, which has a manufacturing plant in Martinsburg, WV and the Senator's office, as well as Senator Rockefeller's activities in connection with his service as Chairman, and now ranking minority Member, of the Subcommittee on Aviation of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. This resolution would authorize the Senate legal counsel to represent Senator Rockefeller and his staff in connection with these subpoenas in order to protect the privileges of the Senate.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today we will have a period of morning business for the first hour of the day's session. Following that hour, the Senate will begin consideration of the fair credit reporting legislation. The consent agreement governing that bill allows for a limited number of amendments to be offered to the legislation. We hope to complete action on that bill during today's session. Last night we were also able to reach an agreement on H.R. 1828, the Syria accountability bill. We may be able to schedule consideration of that measure during today's session as well. Rollcall votes will occur throughout the day today. The Senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 for the regular party luncheons. In addition to the items I have mentioned, the Senate will act this week on the Internet tax moratorium extension. I anticipate that debate to begin on Thursday, and we will complete that before the end of this week. Also, additional appropriations conference reports may be ready during the week, and we will proceed to those that are available. It is my understanding the military construction conference is completed, and that may be ready for consideration this week. We will continue to schedule votes as necessary over the course of the week. This week we will also continue on the appropriations bills. I have been speaking to the chairman of the committee, and it is hoped the remaining bills can be finished in a timely way. I will have more to say on the specifics of the appropriations schedule after further discussion with the chairman, Senator Stevens, and the Democratic leadership as well. With that said, in order for us to adjourn at the earliest time this year, it is important for all of our colleagues to recognize we are going to need to work every day and have productive days. That is going to include Mondays, and it is going to include Fridays. It will likely include each day next week. I know a lot of Senators are wondering about their schedule for next week, given the Veterans Day holiday. I think over the course of the morning we will be able to lock in an understanding in terms of how and when we can consider these appropriations bills.N O T I C E Effective January 1, 2004, the subscription price of the Congressional Record will be $503 per year or $252 for six months. Individual issues may be purchased at the following costs: Less than 200 pages, $10.50; Between 200 and 400 pages, $21.00; Greater than 400 pages, $31.50. Subscriptions in microfiche format will be $146 per year with single copies priced at $3.00. This price increase is necessary based upon the cost of printing and distribution.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I announce that the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Thomas) are necessarily absent. I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning) would vote ``yes.''

Mr. FRIST. I announce that the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Thomas) are necessarily absent. I further announce that if present and voting, the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning) would vote ``yes.''