The Public Record
I just want to explain the parliamentary situation for the record. Mr. President, these last two amendments are totally outside the traditional process of reconciliation. But the practical effects of the motion to waive, which the Senator…
Basically, if I may continue, we would be dealing with three points of order as being well taken if they are put to the Chair? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. That is correct.
My question is whether I should make my statement before the Senator makes the point of order.
The Senator is going to speak as if in morning business, I believe, but on the bill.
All we are trying to do is get people to have time to speak. Senator Brownback was to go next, and Senator Stevens, and when we go into a quorum call the time comes off the bill in an equal way, equal time. That is my understanding.
And the treaty says we submit issues to the WTO, we debate them. We win sometimes; we lose sometimes. On this issue, the WTO ruled that because we specifically send this money out to specific corporations--and there is only one that got 39…
39 percent of this benefit went to 1 company, 39 percent; and $2 billion of the $3 billion that is going to go out of this is going to go to a small group of companies that deal in lumber. Those dollars belong to the American taxpayer…
That is a good outline. I note that if Members want to speak, it would be nice if they would give us a call and tell us they want to speak, and we will make sure they have time to speak. We want to make sure everybody has the time they…
I will reserve until the Senator has used his 1 minute, which I hope the Chair will discipline very precisely.
My point was, if there had been a vote which had invoked cloture so that we could have completed the business of the PATRIOT Act, we would have a vote on final passage of the PATRIOT Act, and it would have been put into law because a…
But wouldn't we be able to complete the business of the PATRIOT Act if cloture had been invoked?
If the majority or even a few Members beyond the two who voted for cloture had voted with the Republicans for cloture on the PATRIOT Act, isn't it true that the PATRIOT Act would have been on the floor?