Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, for the information of all the Senators, that vote went a little bit over. We will not let votes go over. Anyone who is not in the Chamber is going to miss a vote. We have to be able to do this in order to move expeditiously. I want to let all Senators know they leave at their own peril. With that, I am going to turn to Senator Menendez so he may offer his amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY. 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.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise to speak in opposition. First, there was an error made in the number for the Whitehouse amendment for this sequence of votes. I ask unanimous consent that the Whitehouse amendment No. 646 be put on the list instead of Whitehouse No. 652.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the amendment the Senator has offered would reverse a provision in the Affordable Care Act which required that Medicare's area wage index changes be spread budget neutrally throughout the entire Nation. I, as do many, recognize that Medicare's area wage index reimbursement system does require a thorough review and revision. But the amendment in front of us now singles out one provision that negatively affects some areas while ignoring the larger payment reform. I believe Congress should have a larger discussion on area wage index reform within the committees of jurisdiction, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY. 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.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are ready to call up the next amendment.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY. I yield 1 minute to the Senator from Rhode Island.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment is not germane to the underlying resolution and therefore violates section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Mrs. MURRAY. 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. 622

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mrs. MURRAY. I yield to the Senator from California.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, before we go to this vote, I would just remind all Senators that at the end of this vote there will be up to 40 minutes of debate before the next amendment. I would ask all Senators who leave the floor to be back here by 6:30, maybe a little bit before that. But I would remind all of my colleagues that if you drift back in for half an hour on the first vote, it will be later and later as we get through this. So I would really ask everyone who leaves after they vote to be back here at 6:30 at the latest. We may yield a little bit back, but please be back by that time. With that, I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mrs. MURRAY. I yield to the Senator from Illinois. Amendment No. 578

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, my understanding is that all the debate time on this has expired, all the time has expired.

Mrs. MURRAY. And that the Enzi amendment is pending.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I was going to offer amendment No. 653, but I am not going to call up that amendment. I would agree with Senator Collins on her amendment and ask for a voice vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, we have now gone through all of the amendments from the unanimous consent agreement. We are within a couple of minutes of having a unanimous consent request for the next group of amendments. I would ask that all Senators stay in the Chamber because it will just be a matter of several minutes and we will ask unanimous consent for the next group of amendments. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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