Bill Frist

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, February 16. I further ask that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the Journal of the proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business for up to 30 minutes, with the first 15 minutes under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee, and the second 15 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee; provided further, that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2271, as under the previous order. I further ask that the time until the cloture vote at 10:30 a.m. be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees.

Mr. FRIST. Let me finish my comments before we close.

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H. Con. Res. 315 and the Senate now proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, what we have just done is greatly simplify the course of the votes over the course of the morning. We will have three rollcall votes following the voice votes. I appreciate both sides of the aisle working together, condensing 14 motions down to 3 rollcall votes.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that we proceed to immediate votes on the DeWine motion, the Wyden motion, and the Talent-Snowe-Lincoln motion--I would state for the record that these motions will be voice votes--provided further that following those votes, the Senate proceed to votes in relation to the Reed motion, the Hutchison motion, and the Lautenberg motion--and, again, we expect rollcall votes on these three; finally, I ask unanimous consent that following those votes the remaining motions be withdrawn and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, each day, 74 people receive an organ transplant. And each day, another 18 patients die waiting. While it doesn't get a lot of public attention, for every family who struggles with the pain and uncertainty of waiting for that life saving gift, the organ donation shortage is an urgent crisis. Right now, over 97,000 people are on the waiting list. Fewer than half of them will get the transplant they need. Almost 2,000 of the patients on the list are from my home state of Tennessee. As a heart and lung transplant surgeon, I have direct and intimate experience with this issue. I've devoted two decades of my life to giving others a second chance through transplantation. I have sat next to the hospital bed and looked into eyes of patients and their families and seen the frustration, desperation and fear they feel as they wait and hope for the miraculous gift that can reverse a fatal diagnosis. I've personally shared in the elation when the donation came through. I also know very well the tragedy when a patient dies before they could receive a transplant--a direct result of a large and growing shortage of organ donors. The medical community is trying to raise public awareness. I'm proud to say that four Tennessee hospitals are participating in the nationwide, ``Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative Gift of Life Initiative.'' Led by the Department of Health and Human Services, this is a multiphase national collaboration designed to increase access to transplantable organs and promote organ donation among the public. In Tennessee, we have two active organ procurement organizations, the Tennessee Donor Services and the Mid South Transplant Foundation. There are also 10 transplant centers throughout the state. As a transplant surgeon and a Tennessean, I am proud of these path breaking efforts. But, the sobering fact remains, we still have far too few donors to meet the urgent demand. I understand that it's a difficult and emotional decision to, literally, give part of oneself away. Many people, understandably, feel squeamish about choosing donation. But by giving the gift of life, miracles can come from tragedy, and a whole family can be saved. I bring all of this up because there is something we can do here in the Senate. Today, I am proposing that we create a congressional commemorative medal to honor organ donors and their families under the Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 2006. At no cost to the Government, we can recognize the extraordinary generosity of a donor's gift and send a message to the broader public about how vitally important organ donation is to thousands of people desperately waiting for that precious gift. Congressman Pete Stark of California has introduced companion legislation in the House. He shares my belief that organ donation is one of the most precious gifts an individual can give to a fellow human being. I urge my colleagues to join me in this simple and sincere gesture of support. By honoring our fellow citizens in this way, we, too, can help give the gift of life. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, each day, 74 people receive an organ transplant. And each day, another 18 patients die waiting. While it doesn't get a lot of public attention, for every family who struggles with the pain and uncertainty of waiting for that life saving gift, the organ donation shortage is an urgent crisis. Right now, over 97,000 people are on the waiting list. Fewer than half of them will get the transplant they need. Almost 2,000 of the patients on the list are from my home state of Tennessee. As a heart and lung transplant surgeon, I have direct and intimate experience with this issue. I've devoted two decades of my life to giving others a second chance through transplantation. I have sat next to the hospital bed and looked into eyes of patients and their families and seen the frustration, desperation and fear they feel as they wait and hope for the miraculous gift that can reverse a fatal diagnosis. I've personally shared in the elation when the donation came through. I also know very well the tragedy when a patient dies before they could receive a transplant--a direct result of a large and growing shortage of organ donors. The medical community is trying to raise public awareness. I'm proud to say that four Tennessee hospitals are participating in the nationwide, ``Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative Gift of Life Initiative.'' Led by the Department of Health and Human Services, this is a multiphase national collaboration designed to increase access to transplantable organs and promote organ donation among the public. In Tennessee, we have two active organ procurement organizations, the Tennessee Donor Services and the Mid South Transplant Foundation. There are also 10 transplant centers throughout the state. As a transplant surgeon and a Tennessean, I am proud of these path breaking efforts. But, the sobering fact remains, we still have far too few donors to meet the urgent demand. I understand that it's a difficult and emotional decision to, literally, give part of oneself away. Many people, understandably, feel squeamish about choosing donation. But by giving the gift of life, miracles can come from tragedy, and a whole family can be saved. I bring all of this up because there is something we can do here in the Senate. Today, I am proposing that we create a congressional commemorative medal to honor organ donors and their families under the Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 2006. At no cost to the Government, we can recognize the extraordinary generosity of a donor's gift and send a message to the broader public about how vitally important organ donation is to thousands of people desperately waiting for that precious gift. Congressman Pete Stark of California has introduced companion legislation in the House. He shares my belief that organ donation is one of the most precious gifts an individual can give to a fellow human being. I urge my colleagues to join me in this simple and sincere gesture of support. By honoring our fellow citizens in this way, we, too, can help give the gift of life. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we will start a series of votes on motions to instruct conferees with respect to the tax relief bill. There could be up to as many as 16 votes on these motions and, therefore, votes will be kept to 10 minutes in length. I hope there will be fewer votes, and we will be working this morning to see if there is any way to lessen that number. Voting will begin momentarily, and thus Members should stay close to the Chamber today during these stacked votes so that we can move expeditiously. We will be recessing for lunch to accommodate the party luncheons, and we will lock in the time for that recess later in the morning. I would expect that we would continue the voting sequence around 2:15 after the luncheons today. Following the appointment of conferees to the tax relief bill, we will be returning to the asbestos bill. As Members know, we filed cloture on the asbestos bill last night and that vote is scheduled to occur Wednesday morning. Filing of Amendments Under the rule, first-degree amendments need to be filed by 1 p.m. today to be considered in order postcloture. We will likely be in recess at that time, so I ask unanimous consent that the deadline be until 2:30 today.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, when we return to the asbestos bill later today, we have the motion to waive pending, and we will be talking to the two managers this morning to determine the best time for that vote to occur today. Having said that, we are going to have a very busy day with votes, and Senators should not stray far from the Chamber in order to not miss any votes so that we can accomplish all that we have set out to do over the course of the day. We are ready to start with the motions and voting. Chairman Grassley is on his way. We can have the Senator from Massachusetts start, if he is ready. Senator Grassley should be here within the next couple of minutes.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, discussions have proceeded since this morning on the point of order and the motion to waive the point of order, and we have come to an agreement whereby we will have a vote sometime around 6 o'clock tonight. I ask unanimous consent that there now be 3 hours for debate in relation to the motion to waive prior to a vote on the motion, with the time divided as follows: 40 minutes for Senator Specter, 40 minutes for Senator Leahy, 40 minutes for Senator Ensign, 40 minutes for Senator Durbin; provided further that if the point of order is sustained, the two filed cloture motions are vitiated.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I modify my unanimous consent request, that there now be 3 hours minus 20 minutes--2 hours 40 minutes--for debate with the times as designated.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, to clarify, given my math being incorrect, that vote would be a little bit after 6 o'clock tonight on the motion to waive the point of order.

Mr. FRIST. That is correct. It could be earlier than that. Then we would not have any more rollcall votes after that vote tonight.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the last vote.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I switched my vote from a ``yes'' to a ``no'' vote. Without my switching the vote, it would have been 59 to 40. We have one absentee tonight, and that may well have determined which way this particular vote had gone. Thus, I switched my vote from a yea to a nay, thus the vote was 58 to 41. That allows us to, at some point in the future, have the option to reconsider the motion. We will make a decision on that at some point in the future.

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

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in a few moments I will have a very brief statement about what went on with the vote on the asbestos bill, but for our colleagues, I wish to outline where we are going tonight and over the next several days. Calendar No. 360, S. 2271, is the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act. This bill addresses some of the concerns of Members on both sides of the aisle as it relates to the PATRIOT Act. I believe that we strongly support it and we are prepared to consider this measure next. Therefore, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. 2271, the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I had hoped we would at least be able to proceed to that bill tonight. As our colleagues know, this bill is ready to go. It is an important bill. It is important for the safety and security of the American people. It is a bill we have worked on for a long period of time, and we believe there is overwhelming support for this bill. The consent I asked for was for the Senate to begin consideration of that legislation. We had the objection from the other side of the aisle that was expressed. I now move to proceed to S. 2271. The motion to proceed is now pending and is debatable. We have been told that there will be an effort to filibuster the motion to proceed. Therefore, I now send a cloture motion to the desk and ask for its consideration.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, again, the motion is pending, and if the Senators desire to debate the motion they should be prepared to do so. The Chair is obligated to put the question. I put Members on notice that they should remain on the floor if they feel the need to hold up this important legislation; otherwise, we will be proceeding to the underlying bill.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, with respect to the vote we took minutes ago on the asbestos legislation, it does mean that legislation is, in essence, off the floor now, and that we are proceeding with the consideration of the PATRIOT Act, although we have an obstruction underway and we have a threatened filibuster underway, and we will address that in the coming days. The vote on the motion to waive the point of order on the asbestos bill was 59 to 40. In order to have the option to keep a heartbeat at least in this piece of legislation, because it is so important to victims, to our economy, to jobs, what I did, as an advocate for the Specter-Leahy bill, is I switched my vote from yes to no. From a procedural standpoint, what that allows me to do as leader is to bring that back to the floor at some appropriate time if there is indication to do so in the future. We did have one absentee vote tonight that could have made the difference, and with that I switched my vote. I do want to make it very clear, because there is always misunderstanding in terms of when a Senator switches his vote, I strongly support the Specter-Leahy bill, and I switched my vote for procedural reasons. So this vote did reflect 59 to 40 on the floor, although the actual vote is depicted as 58 to 41. Let me also add, and I think I speak for the majority of my colleagues, that I am disappointed in the fact we are not able to proceed with this asbestos litigation bill. The consequence of this vote tonight is that victims who are in need are not going to receive fair and just compensation. They deserve it. They need it. The problem has been clearly spelled out on the floor of this body. We have made progress over the last couple of weeks in that people recognize this is a serious problem that has gone on for too long, yet has to be addressed in a legislative way, that it denies justice to victims, that it hurts and punishes our economy and, unless it is addressed, will continue to destroy jobs in this country. Unfortunately, by refusing to move forward on this bipartisan bill, a bipartisan bill, the Senate chose to protect special interest groups rather than the interests of those innocent victims who deserve more. The cost to our society will be felt unless it is addressed sometime in the future. I do thank all of those who acknowledge there is a real and serious problem that Congress should debate, and it must be resolved at some point in the future.

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent there now be a period for morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.