Judd Gregg

Mr. GREGG

Mr. GREGG. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2360

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, the next amendment is the Lott amendment, the Amtrak amendment.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I want to point out for the edification of our colleagues that we still have a lot of amendments to go. The estimate is in the high teens or potentially low twenties. At the pace we are going, we are not going to get them all done today, and we are going to be here on Friday. I ask, Mr. President, if we can be advised as to how long the last three votes have taken. If we could hear from the clerks, approximately how long? We do not have to be precise. How long have the votes taken?

Mr. GREGG. I move to reconsider and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 2391

Mr. GREGG. I would now like to turn to the amendment of Senator Cornyn.

Mr. GREGG. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, let me begin by thanking all my colleagues for their very constructive efforts today. The fact that we were able to complete the voting process today was a reflection of the willingness of people in this Chamber, especially the staff who acted in an extraordinarily professional way. Also, of course, I want to thank Senator Conrad and his staff, Mary Naylor and her team. Senator Conrad has been an incredibly positive, constructive, and professional individual to work with on this bill. This bill would not have been completed--even though he may not agree with the bill, which he doesn't, obviously, and he has argued his position--he has been more than fair in allowing us to proceed through the bill. And it is a reflection of his extraordinary professionalism. I thank everyone on the staff, except his chart maker. (Laughter) I also especially want to thank my staff--led by the inimitable Scott Gudes--Gail Miller, Jim Hearn, Cheri Reidy, and the rest of the staff-- Dave Fisher and Denzel McGuire. We have had two staff members who have had children just recently, Bill Lucia and Matt Howe. Matt's child was born just as the debate started. I am sure he called him ``deficit reduction.'' We are all very excited about that. We very much appreciate the extraordinary job the staff has done here. I think it is important for our membership to remember that this is the first time in 8 years that this Congress has stepped forward to try to reduce spending by addressing the entitlement and mandatory accounts of our Government. This is a major step forward in the activity of fiscal responsibility. The other side of the aisle has tried to join this bill with other bills. The simple fact is, the only vote you will cast--the only vote that will be cast in the next few minutes--will be the only vote you are going to have to significantly reduce the deficit. It will be a veto to reduce the deficit by approximately $35 billion. If you oppose the next bill that comes down the pike--the tax relief bill--that is your choice. But that is not what you are voting on here. What you are voting on here is the opportunity to reduce the deficit, and it is the only opportunity you are going to have, and it is the first time, as I mentioned, in 8 years that we will be proceeding down this road. It is a step toward fiscal responsibility, and it is a reflection of the Republican Congress's commitment to pursue a path of fiscal responsibility. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREGG. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, at this time, we have come to the end of the amendment process. I now ask, before we go to final passage, we have 5 minutes equally divided between myself and Senator Conrad, and then we will go to final passage.

Mr. GREGG. I urge the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. GREGG. Yes.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I wish to reiterate my statement which was inadvertently omitted from yesterday's Record with regard to amendment No. 2392 that we will support an effort to pass legislation to make the technical change deleted from our bill in a more appropriate vehicle. Pharmacy Dispensing Fees

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask for a voice vote.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, we now turn to Senator Reed for his second amendment.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. GREGG. At this point, I believe the Senator from North Dakota has an amendment to offer. Amendment No. 2422

Mr. GREGG. It appears there may be.

Mr. GREGG. We will now go to Senator Santorum.

Mr. GREGG. And one by Senator Cornyn.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask for a voice vote.

Mr. GREGG. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREGG. I ask unanimous consent that the only amendments remaining in order be two by Senator Reed, one by Senator Lieberman, one by Senator Santorum, and one by Senator Snowe.

Mr. GREGG

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, November 3, 2005 at 12:15 p.m. in Senate Dirksen Office Building Room 226. Agenda I. Nominations: Wan Kim, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division; Steven G. Bradbury, to be an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; Sue Ellen Wooldridge, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division; Thomas O. Barnett, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division; James O'Gara, to be Deputy Director for Supply Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy; Emilio Gonzalez, to be Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security; Julie L. Myers, to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security. II. Bills: S. 1088, Streamline Procedures Act of 2005; Kyl, Cornyn, Grassley, Hatch; S. 1789, Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005; Specter, Leahy, Feinstein, Feingold; S. 751, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act, Feinstein, Kyl; S. 1699, Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act, Specter, Leahy, Hatch, DeWine, Cornyn, Brownback, Feingold, Durbin, Kyl; S. 1095, Protecting American Goods and Services Act of 2005, Cornyn, Leahy; H.R. 683, Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005, Smith--TX; S. 1787, Relief to Victims of Hurricane Katrina and Other Natural Disaster Act of 2005, Vitter, Grassley, Cornyn, DeWine; S. 1647, Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005, Feingold, Leahy, Durbin, Kennedy, Feinstein.

Mr. GREGG. 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 November 3, 2005, at a time to be determined, to conduct a vote on the nomination of Mr. Matthew Slaughter, of New Hampshire, to be a member of the Council of Economic Advisers; Ms. Katherine Baicker, of New Hampshire, to be a member of the Council of Economic Advisers; Mr. Orlando J. Cabrera, of Florida, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Ms. Gigi Hyland, of Virginia, to be a member of the National Credit Union Administration Board; and Mr. Rodney E. Hood, of North Carolina, to be a member of the National Credit Union Administration Board.