Barbara Mikulski: “first of all, once again, we are coming now to the final aspects of this bill. We have been able to achieve this because…”

“first of all, once again, we are coming now to the final aspects of this bill. We have been able to achieve this because of the wonderful bipartisan support that existed between Senator Shelby, myself, and our staffs. We want to thank them for doing that. I will thank them as we go into wrapup. Our colleagues, we thank them again for their cooperation in moving the amendments, working on a bipartisan basis. And now as we go to the Snowe-Kerry amendment and the vote, we ask Senators who have those outstanding amendments to consult with the floor and leadership staff, and ourselves as well, because we think we could have a vote--not promptly but expeditiously--after the conclusion of the Snowe-Kerry amendment. Again, I say to my colleagues to come, vote, stick around, let's work together, and we can finish our bill. People need this bill. It funds the FBI. It funds Katrina help. It funds the methamphetamine help about which we have been talking, and our very important Weather Service. There are so many provisions in it. I yield the floor and look forward to the vote. Amendment No. 1717 The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Alabama [Mr. Shelby], for Ms. Snowe, for herself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Vitter, Ms. Landrieu, and Mr. Talent, proposes an amendment numbered 1717. (The amendment is printed in the Record of Thursday, September 14, 2005, under ``Text of Amendments.'')”