Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I understand that the Senator from Louisiana and the Senator from Oklahoma both would like to call up an amendment, but in the intervening time between now and 8:30, we welcome talking with the Senators to set up some time for those who want to call up their amendments to do so.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 8:30 this evening, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the following amendments in the order listed; that no amendments be in order to any of the amendments in this agreement prior to the vote; that there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form prior to each vote: Lieberman amendment No. 2407, Sanders amendment No. 2498, Salazar amendment No. 2516, and DeMint amendment No. 2481.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Landrieu and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I expect that most of the Members on our side will be voting for this. We had been willing to accept it without a vote. But having said that, I hope once we accept it on this bill, it means that we will not have to have a vote later this evening on a motion to recommit on the 9/11 Commission because once we vote on this and it is part of this package, it will mean, hopefully, we will not have to deal with it on the next bill that we will be considering tonight, the 9/11 Commission. So with that I will be voting aye. I urge adoption.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I want our colleagues to know we are trying to work as diligently as possible to move forward at this time. The Senator from New Jersey wants 10 minutes to speak, and after that I think we can start moving on some of the amendments. So I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from New Jersey to speak for 10 minutes.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Lieberman be allowed 10 minutes to call up an amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. I suggest the absence of a quorum

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are making progress. We have been working through a number of amendments over the past several hours. I thank the majority leader, the minority leader, as well as the managers of the bill in helping us move forward. Amendment No. 2496, withdrawn Amendment No. 2488, as modified I would just reiterate what Senator Reid said earlier. I am happy that we have finally resolved the issue regarding the amendment of the Senator from Louisiana. I believe we are at the point now where we can move forward on that. I ask unanimous consent that the Cochran second-degree amendment No. 2496 be withdrawn; that the Vitter amendment No. 2488, as modified, be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, with that we now have three Senators who will be calling up amendments. I again say to any Senator who has an amendment they want to offer tonight, we are moving quickly to final passage. In a few minutes, we will have a number of amendments that have been agreed to on both sides. We will be calling those up. Between now and then, the Senators I referred to will be speaking to their amendments and calling them up.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be called up by the individual Senators, with the following time agreements, with no intervening action: amendment No. 2481, by Senator DeMint; amendment No. 2516, by Senator Salazar; amendment No. 2498, by Senator Sanders; that the Senators be allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes, with no intervening action.

Mrs. MURRAY. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, just to notify the Senator, I have not asked for unanimous consent. I say to the Senator, we will get to her amendment. Amendments Nos. 2516, as Modified; and 2518, as Modified Mr. President, we now have an agreement on both the Salazar and Kyl amendments. I send both amendments to the desk, as modified, and ask unanimous consent that they be considered en bloc.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I say to the Senator, there are a number of amendments we expect to be called up shortly. For the information of all Senators, we are working through the order we have in front of us right now. Staff is working through a number of amendments we think will be agreed to. At that point, we can work through the final amendments, and we will talk with the Senator about offering his amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. I object.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, at this time we are hoping Senator Dole can be on the Senate floor. We are working our way through these amendments really well at this point. We do have a number of Senators who have their amendments in order. I advise all of them to stay close by the floor. We are trying to work our way through them. As soon as Senator Dole arrives on the floor, we will try to work out an agreement with her and hopefully move forward. Amendment No. 2476 Withdrawn Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw amendment No. 2476.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, under regular order is the next item of business the Dole amendment, No. 2462?

Mrs. MURRAY. I believe that amendment also has been agreed to on both sides.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, under regular order the next amendment is Schumer amendment No. 2447. Is that correct?

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, we have talked with the minority. I do believe this amendment, as well, is agreed to.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I understand now under regular order the next pending amendment is Schumer amendment No. 2461, and there is a modification at the desk.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw Schumer amendment No. 2416 that is pending.