Judd Gregg

Mr. GREGG

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I note on this amendment, when we get into the rollcall, Senator Stevens and Senator Inouye wish to be deemed as paired.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, was the last vote announced?

Mr. GREGG. Then I believe we are going to Senator Specter.

Mr. GREGG. Maybe we should move on.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this amendment be set aside and that we move to the amendment from Senator Graham, who would be next.

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

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we agree to the Specter amendment No. 613 and the Thune amendment No. 465.

Mr. GREGG. That is correct.

Mr. GREGG. I renew the request, Mr. President.

Mr. GREGG. I ask that amendment No. 465 be reported.

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

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. GREGG. I believe Senator Grassley has the next amendment.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, the COPS Program has some history here. It was started by President Clinton. His position was, and he asked for, 100,000 police officers. He said that when we got to 100,000, the program would stop. We got to 110,000 police officers and the program continues on and on and on. This program should have ended 5 years ago or 6 years ago, but it continues. It is similar to so many Federal programs that get constituencies that go on well past what their original purpose was. It may be well intentioned, but we cannot afford it and we shouldn't continue it. It was never thought it would be continued this long. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, at this time, I believe we can agree by unanimous consent to the DeMint amendment, as modified, amendment No. 530, which deals with Social Security.

Mr. GREGG. Do you have the modification at the desk?

Mr. GREGG. Senator DeMint has another amendment.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. GREGG. We are now to Senator Bunning.

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

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

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

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I wish to join Senator Conrad in thanking both our staffs. They are exceptional. They are incredibly talented people. They work extraordinary hours: Mary Naylor and her team on that side. Scott Gudes, Denzel McGuire on our side, including Allison Parent, Jim Hearn, Cheri Reidy, Dan Brandt, Dave Fisher, Conwell Smith, Jay Kholsa, Richie Weiblinger, Seems Mittal, Vanessa Green, Winnie Cheung, Betsy Holahan, Jeff Turcotte, David Myers, Jason Delisk, Dave Pappone, Jennifer Pollum, Mike Lofgren, Kevin Bargo, Matt Giroux, Liz Wroe, and Lynne Seymour, our team that works so well over here. They are special people who put in an extraordinary amount of effort on behalf of the American people. We thank them for it. This is a complex bill. It involves many nights of work and takes a lot of time to work it up into a final package. As you can see from the amount of paper that is being run around right now, it is extraordinary that we are able to keep it straight, and it is because of their extraordinary ability. I also wish to thank the staff on the dais, the Senate staff. This is probably the most difficult bill the Senate deals with because there are so many votes that come so quickly in such rapid succession and they always do an exceptional job and I very much appreciate it. Finally, I wish to thank the chairman, Senator Conrad, who treats us with dignity, respect and fairness and runs an extremely professional shop as chairman of the Budget Committee and who is committed to making sure the integrity of the Senate and the process of the Senate remains professional. We thank him for that, and we thank him for his assistance.

Mr. GREGG. Actually, last year Senator Gregg was in charge. This year, Senator Judd is in charge.

Mr. GREGG

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