Bill Frist

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, this morning we set aside 30 minutes equally divided for morning business. Following that time we will return to the consideration of the lobbying reform bill. Last night, the Democratic leader proposed an amendment which is the pending business. The managers will be here shortly, and we expect that we will work out an agreement for a time certain for the vote in relation to that amendment. Last night, they were also trying to line up some additional amendments for today. We will make as much progress as possible on the bill today. To do that, we are going to need a lot of cooperation from both sides of the aisle. The managers of the bill are encouraged to work out short time agreements on amendments to provide adequate time to discuss the issues and also allow us to move the bill forward. If we are able to finish the bill this week, we will need Members who have amendments to notify the managers just as soon as possible so they can be scheduled for debate and vote. Finally, we will be asking for filing deadlines for all amendments, and we will attempt to lock that in for today. I thank my colleagues for their attention and for their cooperation on this important bill.

Mr. FRIST

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, both the Democratic leader and I will have a few comments, but what I have just done is filed a cloture motion, which I have done so reluctantly because I really have been very pleased over the past couple weeks as we addressed a very important issue on lobbying reform and ethics reform, an issue that is critical to restoring the faith the American people really deserve to have in their Government. We have been working together, as I said, in a bipartisan way. I thought until a few hours ago we had a very good chance of completing this bill this week. At the leadership level, we worked together very well, and the four managers--we have four managers because we merged the two bills--have been working together effectively and lined up a number of amendments to vote on today and tomorrow as well. As I said, I thought we would be able to finish it. Having said that, what happened today is an amendment came to the floor under circumstances that I am not going to go through right now, but it is such that it really would take us off the course of this bipartisan lobbying reform bill. We had discussions as to whether that amendment would be withdrawn, but it was made very clear after the discussions among us that the amendment would come back later tonight, tomorrow, or the next day. Again, this amendment has nothing to do with lobbying reform or ethics reform of this body, something that is important, something that is the business of the Senate right now on the floor. So what I have done is filed a cloture motion which will ensure we finish this bill. We have had reasonable time for people to offer amendments, and postcloture, once cloture is obtained, germane amendments can still be considered. Let me also add that we still have the opportunity to get the bill done. What I would suggest is that with this cloture motion, since it will ripen on Friday unless we are able to work out some other agreement to have it ripen before that, we do have the opportunity tomorrow to work over the course of the morning, really through the day, and address amendments--we have to do so by unanimous consent--but address amendments on the lobbying reform bill. The managers were about to have us vote on some other amendments which we would be able to vote on. It will take unanimous consent. We could bring them up one at a time if that is the case. Without going into all the details of what happened, that is where we are today. The cloture motion now has been filed, and it does give us a road to completing this bipartisan bill. I will be happy to yield to the Democratic leader for a comment.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion on the bill to the desk.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee- reported amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, 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 when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 9. 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 then proceed to a period for the transaction of morning business with Senators being permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. I thank the Chair. (The remarks of Mr. Frist pertaining to the introduction of S. 2381 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I now make a point of order that the Inhofe amendment, No. 2898, is not germane.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I believe we are ready to proceed to passage. That will not require a rollcall.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 7, 2006, at 9:30 a.m., to receive testimony from combatant commanders on their military strategy and operational requirements, in review of the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2007 and the Future Years Defense Program.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 7, 2006, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on ``Assessing the Current Oversight and Operation of Credit Rating Agencies.''

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, at 10 a.m. on Rural Telecom.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate and on Tuesday, March 7 at 9:30 a.m. The purpose of this oversight hearing is to discuss the goal of energy independence.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on nominations.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, at 10 a.m. in SD- 430.

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 Tuesday, March 7, 2006, to hear the legislative presentation of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The hearing will take place in room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building at 10 a.m.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed business meeting.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 7, 2006, at 2:45 p.m., in open session to receive testimony on the nuclear weapons and defense environmental cleanup activities of the Department of Energy in review of the Defense authorization request for fiscal year 2007 and the future years nuclear security program.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today we will begin a 1-hour period for debate prior to the cloture vote with respect to the LIHEAP bill. I ask unanimous consent that the 1 hour be for debate only.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I expect that vote to occur sometime shortly before 11 a.m. this morning. If cloture is invoked--and I hope it will be--then we will be working toward an agreement that will allow us to finish the bill as quickly as possible today. We will be returning to the lobbying reform bill today. We will begin considering amendments. Therefore, in addition to the LIHEAP bill, we will have votes in relation to the amendments to the lobbying reform bill. I also expect the Senate to recess from 12:30 until 2:15 for the weekly party luncheons. I say again to all colleagues who want to finish the lobbying bill this week that we certainly want to allow adequate time for Members to offer amendments. I urge Members to come forward early. We would like to lock in a filing deadline as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, I hope that we could lock in a filing deadline for today and therefore give our managers their best opportunity to schedule consideration of the amendments as soon as possible. Again, we expect to be working into the evening each night in an effort to finish the bill as soon as possible.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, every morning we open the Senate by reciting, as we just did a few moments ago, the Pledge of Allegiance. Hand over heart, we pay solemn tribute to the American flag, that sacred symbol of America's history, values, and principles. We are reminded that we are but servants, momentary players in the great unfolding of the American story. The flag--transcendent, noble, still--commands our humility and binds us in the common project of serving the body politic. It is with this understanding that, before Congress adjourns for the Fourth of July recess, I intend to bring the flag protection amendment to the floor. The proposed amendment is simple. It is a one-sentence statement that reads: ``The Congress shall have the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.'' Along with 80 percent of the American public and all 50 of our State legislatures, I believe the Constitution should allow laws that protect our flag. Unfortunately, in 1989, the Supreme Court overturned 200 years of precedent and struck down all laws that prohibit flag desecration. I believe their decision was misguided. In my view, desecrating the flag is not speech but an act of physical assault. We know this when we see rioting mobs in foreign countries setting our flag on fire. We can see clearly that they are engaged in a specific act of physical aggression against our country and everything for which we stand. Whether inside or outside our borders, burning the American flag is intended to intimidate, not to engage in constructive speech. I believe the amendment process is the appropriate remedy to the Court's 1989 decision. As Harvard law professor Richard Parker explains: The amendment process is essential to the Constitution's deepest foundation--the principle of popular sovereignty affirmed in its first words, ``We the people.'' Making use of this process reaffirms and thus preserves that foundation. Since I first came to the Senate in 1995, I have supported a constitutional amendment to protect our flag. The flag is not only the physical symbol of our Nation, our pride, and our in history, but also of our values: freedom, justice, independence, equality, and, ultimately, we the people. Protecting the flag won't stop Americans from exercising their first amendment right to free speech. Countless brave men and women have died defending the American flag. It is but a small, humble act to vote to defend it. In the words of our esteemed colleague, Senator Hatch: Whatever our differences of party, race, religion, or socio-economic status, the flag reminds us that we are very much one people, united in a shared destiny, bonded in a common faith in our Nation and the profound belief in personal liberty that our Nation protects. I look forward to bringing the flag protection amendment to the floor for debate, and I am hopeful that we will be able to once and for all give the American people the opportunity to defend this noble symbol of our shared legacy.