following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 4:30 today. At 4:30, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Stephen Higginson to be U.S. circuit judge for the Fifth…

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record. The…

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 197, H.R. 368. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (H.R. 368) to amend title 28…

there will be a series of up to seven rollcall votes beginning at 10:15 in the morning--maybe a little earlier. The votes will be in relation to amendments to H.R. 2112 and passage of the bill. ____________________

if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 6:18 p.m., adjourned until Tuesday, November 1, 2011, at 10 a.m…

I ask for a second reading en bloc of those two measures, and then object to my own request. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The bills will be read a second time on the next legislative day. ____________________

I am told there are two bills at the desk due for their first reading. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bills by title. The legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (H.R. 674) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to…

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, the Senate adjourn until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 1; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be…

I ask unanimous consent the committee- reported amendments be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; and any statements…

I ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to Calendar No. 200, H.R. 394. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (H.R. 394) to amend title 28, United States Code, to…

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record. The…

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 196, S. 1637. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (S. 1637) to clarify appeal…

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 103, 416, and 420; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid…

today, I join millions of Nevadans in commemorating the day, 147 years ago, that Nevada joined the Union. Granted statehood during the bitter years of the Civil War, in 1864, our mettle was tested from the very beginning. Today, our State…

The Senate GOP has had a love affair for many years now with Grover Norquist. They will not touch anything dealing with revenue, nothing, even though they're not in touch with reality or their own constituents, but they are in touch with…

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it adjourn under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 2:26 a.m., adjourned until Monday, October 24, 2011, at 3:45 p.m. ____________________

No. What I said I would do is when we get ready to schedule these votes, I will do it. I will make sure you are here. Mr. McCONNELL. Fair enough. I want to echo the comments of the majority leader. In my time in the Senate some of our best…

I ask for the yeas and nays on the Gillibrand amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the amendment. The clerk will call the roll.

All elements of the previous order are in effect. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. CLOTURE MOTION The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the pending…

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3:45 p.m. on Monday, October 24, 2011, for a pro forma session only, with no business conducted; and that following the pro forma session, the…

The next rollcall vote will be at 5:30 p.m., on Monday, October 31, 2011, on the nomination of Stephen Higginson to be U.S. District Judge for the Fifth Circuit. ____________________

I wish to congratulate my friend, the chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Senator from Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison. They both worked very hard in a fair way to move forward on this. It has been good…

Under the previous order, I move to executive session to call up Calendar No. 410, the nomination of John Bryson, to be Commerce Secretary. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nomination. The assistant legislative clerk read…

the provision my friend talks about is placed in legislation as a result of the study made during the Bush administration--second Bush administration. GAO did a study. They found that 33,000 contractors, in effect, cheated on their taxes…

we have a consent request we are working on. We hope to have people sign off on that. If they do not, one or many are going to have to object to it. We have spent enough time on this that we need to move forward. We know we have a number…