Mr. President, I thank Senator Snowe. I could not have a better partner on this committee. Her expertise is noted and admired among the Members. She has served as a member of this committee-- oftentimes its chair--for many years. I…

Madam President, I appreciate the cooperation of both leaders to help us get to the floor this morning for a debate on this very important piece of legislation and one that we have actually and, unfortunately, struggled with for the last…

Mr. President, I thank Ranking Member Snowe and, according to the previous agreement, I think we are going to move to a quorum call at this point. Within a short period of time, I think the leadership is going to lay down two amendments…

Mr. President, I know Members are following this debate carefully, and their amendments. Let me bring everybody up to date. It is about 5 after 5. We hope to have a vote around 6 o'clock, potentially two votes. We have about five…

I will object. I know the Senator is very interested in offering this amendment, and we are very interested in hearing about it, but we have now six amendments pending. So if the Senator would like to go ahead and speak about the…

Will the Senator yield for a clarification? This most certainly is an open process. What I was trying to explain to the Senator is there have been about a half dozen other Senators who have come to the floor during the day--such as Senator…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security be authorized to…

I thank the Senator from Texas. I appreciate the patience of my colleagues who are on the floor. Because we have had two or three colleagues from this side of the aisle speak, I thought it would be appropriate to go to the Senator from…

Mr. President, I see two Members on the floor. I ask unanimous consent for Senator Johanns to go next and Senator Rockefeller, who wanted to speak, and then we will try to get some sort of consent for one or two votes tonight. We are still…

I object to making it pending but not for discussion. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

How long does the Senator think the Senator from Washington will proceed and how long will the Senator herself proceed?

Madam President, can I just inquire? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Louisiana.

Mr. President, I sincerely appreciate the remarks of the Senator from Delaware and thank him for his support not only of this program but for his expertise and leadership in the whole area of small business innovation and technological…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that in proceeding to the consideration of S. 493 there be a period of debate until noon. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Please let me correct myself. Earlier today I said that Senator Coons is from Connecticut. Clearly he is from Delaware. And Senator Johanns is not on the floor, but Senator Barrasso is. It has been a long day and I apologize to my…

Mr. President, right before lunch, I laid the groundwork for this amendment, so let me quickly summarize. This is one of a series of amendments that conservatives are bringing to the floor that go to our central challenge of reining in…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To require the Federal Government to sell off…

Thank you, Mr. President, and thanks to my colleagues for their courtesies and cooperation. At this point, I move to temporarily set aside the pending amendment and to call up Vitter amendment No. 178. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there…