Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I object, Madam President.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Crapo), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Domenici), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mr. Gregg), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Crapo) and the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback) and the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Allard), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Ensign), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Thune), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Voinovich).

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Allard), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Ensign), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Thune), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter), and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Voinovich).

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Hagel) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain). The PRESIDIENT OFFICER (Ms. Cantwell). Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?

Mr. LOTT

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

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, the leadership has been continuing to consult with our colleagues who are working on this legislation, and I have the impression, from talking to Members who are involved, that they have done a lot of good work and perhaps have made some progress that will lead to being able to get a conference and act on it. They have been discussing some very significant issues. One of the problems that I recall is that this legislation went well beyond what was just in the 9/11 Commission recommendations, and that is a major part of the problem. There was some other language that was of great concern and could lead this bill to be vetoed by the President, but he does not want to veto it, and we want to get a bill that we can agree on that can become law. We all want to strengthen our homeland security, but, as quite often is the case in the Congress--the House or the Senate or the both of us--we put language in these bills that is problematic and, in my opinion and others, counterproductive. So we don't want to get to a point where we can't get an agreement or get a bill signed into law and have to start back at square one. I wish to emphasize that the impression of the leadership--and that is whom I am speaking for here--is that they are working and making progress, and we hope they will continue to do that and get a good, productive, and bipartisan agreement. At this point, I must object.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Reserving the right to object, Mr. President, it is my understanding the Senate bill is not yet available. I think the bill will be filed at some point soon so that Members can review it, but at this time, until Members see the legislation, I will object, and maybe we can revisit this when the bill is reported. Therefore, I object.

Mr. LOTT. If I could ask the indulgence of the majority leader briefly. With regard to the effort on the homeland security, 9/11 Commission recommendations, I think the concerns we have on this legislation were made very clear, laid out in the Congressional Record when the legislation was being considered. We want homeland security in America, but we also want to make sure the money we provide and what we authorize is done in a responsible and appropriate way. There is the possibility of gorging the system without getting a lot of results. I have flown to the different ports in this country and looked at port security and all the intermodal activities and the security that goes on there. More is being done than maybe some people realize. But also there were some labor provisions in this legislation that clearly needed to be worked out in order for this legislation to make it through the process. But I agree, hopefully we can get something worked out here where this legislation could perhaps get into conference and get it done before we leave for the Fourth of July. The conferees know where the problems are; if they would meet and get those problems worked out, then I think probably this legislation could be cleared. I just wanted to respond to the majority leader's concern. I understand how he feels and what he is trying to do, but I did want to put those comments and those thoughts on the record.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions) would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions) would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn), and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain).

Mr. LOTT. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Bond), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Shelby).