Ted Stevens

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. STEVENS. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, there will be no further action on the Defense appropriations bill tonight.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent that we go into a period for morning business.

Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. I will wait for the Senator's statement.

Mr. STEVENS. We are still in morning business, are we?

Mr. STEVENS

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to speak as in morning business. Is that proper at this time?

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I am disturbed that we are delayed in taking up the Defense appropriations bill for 2006. It has been a problem. We have to wait for the authorization bill to come before the Senate. I have asked the leader for permission to take up this bill, along with my colleague from Hawaii, and bring the Defense appropriations bill for 2006 before the Senate today. I understand that has been objected to on some procedural ground. It is my intention to make the statement I would make if the bill were before us. I will later ask that it be printed in the Record when the bill is laid before us. I think the Senate should be using this time. We had intended to have votes today and tomorrow. We will not have votes Monday and Tuesday, but the bill will be before the Senate Monday and Tuesday. We tried our best to work with the Armed Services Committee on their authorization bill, and we have a dispute between our subcommittee and the Intelligence Committee. That dispute pertains to a matter that should not be discussed on the floor. It is one we thought we had worked out by virtue of a compromise provision we put into this Defense appropriations bill, and I hope the members of the Intelligence Committee will recognize that as such.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 230, H.R. 2863. I further ask consent that the committee-reported substitute be agreed to as original text for the purposes of further amendment, with no points of order waived by virtue of this agreement.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, once the bill is before the Senate, it is open to amendment.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be a period of routine morning business between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. today. Senators have been invited to the White House to attend the swearing in of Judge Roberts. Buses will be provided for transportation. We will not conduct business during the period of that important event.

Mr. STEVENS. I am asking for morning business during that period. There would be morning business with no votes from 2:30 to 4 o'clock.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. 1778 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended for 15 minutes.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. I call the attention of my colleagues to the fact that the money for Iraq and Afghanistan is in a reserve account in this bill and, theoretically, it should have started being available this Saturday. It will only be available when this bill is signed into law by the President. Sometime during the first quarter, operating accounts for day-to-day operation costs--operation and maintenance for the Army, for the Marine Corps, and for the training efforts of Iraqis--are in the reserve account and will not be available. It is imperative we get this bill to the President so it can be signed to make the money available by the middle of November. Increased fuel costs are putting pressure on operating accounts. We all know what it costs us when we pull up to a gas station and fill up a tank. It costs just as much or more to fill up the tanks in Iraq and Afghanistan for those people who are in the air and on the ground. That money is not going to be available unless we approve this bill. One of the things that bothers me is that there is money in this bill to finance continued production of the C-130Js. That production contract is planned for mid-November, but there is no money available now. It will not be available until the 2006 bill is signed. There are a whole series of things in this bill that are designed to take the pressure off of the way the funding is being carried out at the Department of Defense. The ability to finance the improvised explosive device task force initiatives will be constrained unless that $50 billion portion of this bill is passed. So I urge the Senate to help us get this bill through as quickly as possible. I know that is sort of difficult now with the recesses that are coming up, but very clearly we are starting to get amendments that are not germane to this bill, and I hope that will not go on. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I and the Senator from Hawaii join in asking the clerks in both cloakrooms that they would send out a notice that we intend to move for third reading if there is no amendment presented within an hour. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. STEVENS

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 29, 2005, at 11:45 a.m., to conduct a vote on the nomination of Mr. Keith E. Gottfried, of California, to be General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Mr. Israel Hernandez, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service; Mr. Darryl W. Jackson, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce; Ms. Kim Kendrick, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Mr. Franklin L. Lavin, of Ohio, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade; Mr. David H. McCormick, of Pennsylvania, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration; Mr. Keith A. Nelson, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Ms. Darlene F. Williams, of Texas to be Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Mr. Emil Henry Jr., of New York, to be Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions; and Mr. Patrick O'Brien, of Minnesota, to be Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, Department of the Treasury.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, September 29, 2005, at 10 a.m., on Communications in Disaster, in SD 562.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, September 29, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on pending treaties.

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, September 29, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. in Senate Dirksen Office Building Room 226. Agenda I. Nominations Timothy Flanigan, to be Deputy Attorney General; and Susan Neilson, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. II. Bills S. 1088, Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005; Kyl, Cornyn, Grassley, Hatch. S. Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005; Specter, Leahy, Feinstein, Feingold. S. 751, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act; Feinstein, Kyl. S. 1326, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act; Sessions. S. 1086, A Bill to Improve the National Program to Register and Monitor Individuals Who Commit Crimes Against Children or Sex Offenses; Hatch, Biden, Schumer. S. 956, Jetseta Gage Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes Against Children Act of 2005; Grassley, Kyl, Cornyn. S. 1699, Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act; Specter, Leahy, Hatch, DeWine, Cornyn, Brownback, Feingold. S. 1095, Protecting American Goods and Services Act of 2005; Cornyn, Leahy. H.R. 683, Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005; Smith-TX. S. 1647, Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005; Feingold, Leahy, Durbin, Kennedy, Feinstein. S. 443, Antitrust Criminal Investigative Improvements Act of 2005; DeWine, Kohl, Leahy. Committee on the Judiciary