I move to proceed to Calendar No. 204, S. 1723. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 204, S. 1723, a bill to provide for teacher and first…

I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the previous order, at 12 noon the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 272, 273, and 274; that there be 10 minutes for debate equally divided…

my friend the Republican leader--and I will talk in more detail in a few minutes--is complaining about a tax of one-half of 1 percent--one-half of 1 percent on people who make more than $1 million a year to pay for a program that would…

I suggest the absence of a quorum. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas.

I have a cloture motion at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion. The legislative clerk read as follows: Cloture Motion We, the undersigned…

there will be three rollcall votes about noon tomorrow, four rollcall votes at approximately 2 p.m. We expect additional rollcall votes tomorrow in relation to the Appropriations bill. We are going to do our utmost to complete that bill…

I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to a series of votes in relation to the following amendments: Vitter No. 769, as modified…

I have a cloture motion at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: Cloture Motion We, the…

I withdraw my motion to proceed to Calendar No. 204. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is withdrawn. The minority leader. ____________________

I have another cloture motion at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion. The legislative clerk read as follows: Cloture Motion We, the…

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call under rule XXII be waived with regard to both cloture motions. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

as I indicated earlier, we have tried most all day to have some votes. We were unable to do that. We are not going to have any more votes tonight. I have spoken with the Republican leader. We have done the best we can for today. There will…

we have worked long and hard this whole week trying to move forward on the legislation dealing with our appropriations bills. It has been difficult, and one reason it has been difficult is this is kind of a new area we are working in; that…

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to consideration of S. Res. 300. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A resolution (S. Res. 300) supporting the…

I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to this matter be printed in the Record. The PRESIDING…

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 125. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: The bill (S. 894) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an…

I ask unanimous consent that a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 410; that there be 4 hours of debate equally divided…

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call under rule XXII be waived. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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 9:29 p.m., adjourned until Thursday, October 20, 2011, at 10 a.m. ____________________

Following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. Following morning business, the Senate will resume…

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agree to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, that there be no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the resolution be printed in…

As soon as I answer my friend's question. I am reminded of what took place at the beginning of this year. We had a number of new Senators--relatively new Senators--who joined with some of the more experienced Senators who wanted to change…

I appreciate very much the Senator from Illinois reminding me what took place at the beginning of this Congress. Mr. McCAIN. Would the Senator yield for a comment?

In response to my friend's question, he is absolutely right. Remember, this is not an Obama-driven program. It started during the George Bush era. Why? Because George Bush was President of the United States on 9/11, and he recognized the…

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 32) was agreed to, as…