Mr. President, reserving the right to object. I pride myself in being a very patient person, and I will continue to be patient now. But during this Congress, we have had to overcome so many procedural roadblocks--not one, not two, but…

Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion to reconsider is entered. The Senator from Illinois.

Mr. President, I want to say a few things on the vote we will have at 2:15 p.m. today. The issue that is creating all of the attention is a provision that the committee put in the bill dealing with don't ask, don't tell. The committee did…

Mr. President, today in the Senate there will be a period of morning business until 11 a.m. with the time controlled between the leaders or their designees. The majority will control the first half of that time; the Republicans will…

Mr. President, I am told there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the bills by title for a second time. The bill clerk read as follows: A bill (S. 3790) to amend…

Mr. President, the Senator from Arizona has been in Congress the exact same period of time I have been here. We were in the House together, and we came to the Senate together. I am confident he knows the rules of the Senate. It has been…

Mr. President, before I proceed with more procedural matters related to the motion I just made, I am anxious to hear from my friend, the ranking member of the committee. We are not trying to cut him off in expressing his views. I ask…

Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings on these two matters en bloc. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection is heard. The bills will be placed on the calendar. ____________________

I say to my friend from Arizona, I haven't decided for sure. We talked about some of the things I would do with our amendments. I have been very clear with every Republican Senator I have spoken to that, of course, the motion to strike, we…

Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that the vote on the motion to invoke cloture occur at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, September 21; that on that date, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed following a period of morning…

Mr. President, I am shortly going to move to the Defense authorization bill. I hope we can avoid a cloture vote on it. But from what I have been able to determine, that will not be possible. I have had a number of conversations with…

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized. ____________________