Judd Gregg

Mr. GREGG

Mr. GREGG. I amend my request by saying that at the end of the hour of debate on Vitter, we will go to a vote in relation to the Vitter amendment without any second degrees.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask for a voice vote on this amendment.

Mr. GREGG. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

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

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask that prior to this vote, we do a little housekeeping. The following amendments have been cleared. I ask unanimous consent that they be deemed to be called up and read and approved en bloc after I have read them out. The first one would be No. 4618, Senator Dayton; No. 4616, Senator Durbin; No. 4578, Senator Warner; No. 4592, Senator Feingold; No. 4638, Senator Boxer, as modified; No. 4642, Senator Pryor, as modified; No. 4619, Senator Durbin, as modified; No. 4635, Senator Carper, as modified; No. 4550, Senator Specter, as modified; No. 4624, Senator Obama, as modified; and No. 4661, Senator Lautenberg, as modified. I ask unanimous consent that those amendments be agreed to.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I send five amendments to the desk, one on behalf of Senator Baucus, one on behalf of Senator Kyl, one on behalf of Senator Schumer, one on behalf of Senator Grassley, and one on behalf of Senator Levin, and I ask unanimous consent that those amendments be considered read and approved en bloc.

Mr. GREGG. I believe we are now ready to go to a vote on the amendment of Senator Vitter.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I turn to the Senator from California who has an amendment.

Mr. GREGG. I further ask unanimous consent the amendment numbered 4574 by Senator Coleman should have been modified. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent it be deemed modified as sent to the desk and that it be agreed to.

Mr. GREGG. I hope the Senator wouldn't. I ask unanimous consent the amendment be agreed to.

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

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

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I address the Chambliss amendment numbered 4649 and I ask unanimous consent it be called up, considered read, and passed.

Mr. GREGG. I join the Senator from Washington. I especially thank the Senator from Washington who has been drawn in here to help out. She has done a fabulous job. We would not have gotten to this point as promptly as we have without her assistance and leadership. It has been a joy to work with her. Her professionalism is extraordinary. I also, of course, thank Senator Byrd, the ranking member. He is a tremendous force. He has been for decades. His influence on this bill is very significant. He has been a very constructive individual to work with as my ranking member, although he is well my senior in both experience, knowledge, and ability. I especially thank my staff: Rebecca Davies, Carol Cribbs, Shannon O'Keefe, Mark VandeWater, Nancy Perkins, and Christa Crawford. They have done a great job. They have been working long hours, as have other members of our staff, including interns who have been brought in and Budget staff who have been thrown in the breach. But the Appropriations staff is a small, rather effective cadre, and we admire what they do. On the minority side Chuck Kieffer and his team do a superb job, and we greatly admire their efforts. And, of course, we very much appreciate the assistance of the staff of the full committee, and especially the assistance of Senator Cochran and Keith Kennedy, Bob Putnam, Jack Conway, and Richard Larson. These are folks who come in and help us out a great deal. So we thank them immensely. We could not have gotten to this point without them. They work immense hours. We can never really adequately express our appreciation to them, but we do greatly appreciate all they have done. Amendment No. 4582, As Modified Mr. President, at this time I ask unanimous consent that we call up and proceed to the consideration of amendment No. 4582 on behalf of Senator Clinton, that it be modified with the modification I send to the desk, and that it be agreed to.

Mr. GREGG

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on Iraq.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 2:30 p.m. to consider the nomination of Stephen S. McMillin to be Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to consider the nomination of Mr. Eric Solomon, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury, vice Pamela Olson, resigned.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 13, 2006, at 10 a.m. in open session to receive testimony on military commissions in light of the Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a Full Committee Hearing on Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Alaska and the Pacific Region: A Framework for the Nation, on Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 10 a.m. the purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on H.R. 5254, the Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act. ThE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. committee on Finance

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, July 13, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226. I. Nominations Neil M. Gorsuch, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit; Jerome A. Holmes, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit; Kimberly Ann Moore, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit; Bobby E. Shepherd, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit; Gustavo Antonio Gelpi, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico; Daniel Porter Jordan, III, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi; Steven G. Bradbury, to be an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; R. Alexander Acosta, to be U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Martin J. Jackley, to be U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota; Brett L. Tolman, to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah. II. Bills S. 2453, National Security Surveillance Act of 2006, Specter; S. 2455, Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006, DeWine, Graham; S. 2468, A bill to provide standing for civil actions for declaratory and injunctive relief to persons who refrain from electronic communications through fear of being subject to warrantless electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes, and for other purposes, Schumer; S. 3001, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Improvement and Enhancement Act of 2006, Specter, Feinstein; S. 2831, Free Flow of Information Act of 2006, Lugar, Specter, Graham, Schumer, Biden, Grassley; H.R. 1036, Copyright Royalty Judges Program Technical Corrections Act, Smith--TX; S. 155, Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act of 2005, Feinstein, Hatch, Grassley, Cornyn, Kyl, Specter; S. 2703, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, Specter, Leahy, Grassley, Kennedy, DeWine, Feinstein, Brownback, Durbin, Schumer, Kohl, Biden, Feingold; S. 1845, Circuit Court of Appeals Restructuring and Modernization Act of 2005, Ensign, Kyl; S. 2679, Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, Talent, De Wine, Cornyn.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 13, 2006, to hold a hearing titled ``Battling the Backlog Part II: Challenges Facing the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims''. The hearing will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building at 10 a.m.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 13, 2006, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a closed business meeting.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet tomorrow, July 13, 2006, from 10 a.m. to noon in Dirksen 106 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.