David Vitter

Mr. VITTER

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I would like to ask if my rights on the Senate floor can also be protected in that unanimous consent.

Mr. VITTER. I thank the Majority Leader. As the majority leader knows, several of us have been continually frustrated about our ability to exercise our rights on the floor of the Senate as duly elected officials. All of our amendments have been shut out. We have not had the opportunity to read this new mega-amendment. The last vote occurred with one copy of that division being at the desk, no copies being on the floor of the Senate. I would like to protect my rights as an individual Senator and, therefore, I would like to propose a modified UC request incorporating the Senator's suggestions, but offering me 5 minutes within that 1-hour period for any purpose whatsoever.

Mr. VITTER. There is objection. I would like to propose an alternative unanimous consent request.

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, reserving my right to object, I would like to ask that my full rights as a Senator be protected with a unanimous consent request also.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I renew my unanimous consent request that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. VITTER. Reserving my right to object.

Mr. VITTER. I object.

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I remove my objection.

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, with the majority leader on the floor, I want to use my brief minute to follow up on my inquiries and frustrations. Very soon, we are going to be presented with a brandnew version of this mega-amendment, 400 pages or whatever it is. I would like to be allowed some reasonable opportunity to independently study that mega- amendment without having to depend on other people's summaries, and it is for that reason I made the unanimous consent request that we be in morning business for 5 hours once that brandnew mega-amendment is presented. With that explanation and background, given that the distinguished majority leader recognized that right of ours yesterday, when we were allowed to read the old version of the amendment, I would like to make that unanimous consent request.

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. VITTER. I would suggest, through the Chair to the distinguished majority leader, that I have a real problem with depending on basically the other side's summary of these changes which are being made as we speak. So I would propound a new unanimous consent request, that if we have to do that, if that summary is lacking or inaccurate in any way, that all subsequent votes and actions of the Senate which are agreed to have no effect because we have depended on the other side's information and it could turn out to have been incomplete or inaccurate.

Mr. VITTER

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I truly find this process amazing. We have been told by the master crafters of this bill, who have developed this grand compromise in a relatively small group, that this is a delicate compromise and nothing can be allowed to upset it, certainly not allowing our amendments to reach the floor this week to be debated. So it has to stay exactly like it is. For that reason, our amendments are being blocked en masse. But at the same time, these crafters of the compromise are changing their bill every half hour. It is a constantly moving target. Just a few days ago, we were presented with a brandnew underlying bill that is 761 pages. In addition, yesterday we were given a huge amendment, really 26 amendments put together, that is 373 pages. We had the audacity to ask that we be allowed to read the amendment and understand it. After making the clerk read the amendment out loud for some period, Senator Reid finally acknowledged that, yes, maybe it would be fair to let us read the amendment. So we recessed for the night. Great. The trouble is, that amendment is out the window. They are now working on a brandnew version that they are trying to present soon. We have no idea what changes are being made to yesterday's amendment to make it today's amendment. It is probably going to be over 373 pages. So our study last night is basically for nought. That process is not fair. It is patently unfair. We have the right to understand what is before the Senate. We have the right to read it. That is exactly what Senator DeMint's unanimous consent requests all went to. They were all shot down. They were all denied by the majority. I think it is a patently unfair process. Let me ask this unanimous consent to at least allow us to digest this brandnew mega amendment, and that is, when Senator Reid offers his modified version of this amendment, which we expect will contain many changes from yesterday, including serious and substantive changes, that we have 5 hours as in morning business so that we are allowed to digest the contents of this new amendment. That is the unanimous consent request.

Mr. VITTER. Reclaiming the remainder of my time, Mr. President, I think this is amazing. We are going to be presented with a brandnew mega amendment fairly soon. It is going to be at least 373 pages, maybe 400 pages, and we are not going to be allowed to read it before this Senate forges ahead debating and possibly voting on it. I don't understand why we are not offered the opportunity to digest this brandnew mega amendment. Senator Reid stood on this floor yesterday and acknowledged it was only right and only fair to give us an opportunity to digest his mega amendment yesterday. The problem is, come this morning, that is out the window. There is a new mega amendment. We have no idea what line has been changed, what paragraph has been changed, what is new language, what is old language. We need a reasonable opportunity to independently digest that amendment, not simply take other people's summaries and word for it when we are presented with this brandnew 400-page amendment. I will be happy to yield to the majority leader on this point, reserving the remainder of my time.

Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, yes, but to do that we have to read the whole new mega amendment, I suggest to the majority leader. It is in that vein and in that spirit that I offered the unanimous consent request, that once the new mega amendment is presented, once that happens, we be in morning business for 5 hours so we may be allowed to read it.

Mr. VITTER

Mr. VITTER. Madam President, regular order. The Senator is not responding to a question, he is making a statement; he is engaging in debate.

Mr. VITTER. Regular order. The Senator is not asking a question.

Mr. VITTER. Madam President, I have a parliamentary inquiry: Regular order.

Mr. VITTER. Thank you for the opportunity to ask the question.

Mr. VITTER. I would like to ask for clarification from the Parliamentarian and what the effect is on that amendment?

Mr. VITTER. Yes. I would like to ask the leader if what happened, where apparently we withdrew one of the subamendments, takes unanimous consent or any consent?

Mr. VITTER. Parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. VITTER. Regrettably, because I am being shut down, I will continue my objection.

Mr. VITTER. Reserving my right to object, may I ask if that can be amended to allow the Senator from Louisiana 30 seconds--30 seconds--to gain the floor for purposes of my own choosing rather than the majority leader's choosing?

Mr. VITTER. Regrettably, I must continue my objection.