this morning, following the time for the two leaders, we will have a brief period for closing remarks related to S. 2271, the PATRIOT Act amendments legislation. The vote on passage of that bill is scheduled for 10 a.m. this morning…

could I ask, through the Chair to the Democratic leader, to express an opinion first, and that is we absolutely have to proceed with this pensions legislation. I know my distinguished colleague has come to the floor and said certain things…

it is apparent where we are. What I do not want to see happen is that this escalates into comments from the other side accusing us of not caring about this bill. We have led on this bill. We finished it in November. The House finished it…

today we will begin with a period for morning business for up to 60 minutes. Following that time, the Senate will resume debate on S. 2271, the PATRIOT Act amendments legislation. The debate will be equally divided until the hour of 12:30…

when you reflect back to that many votes, that many thousands of votes, very quickly you could go back and look at various issues Pat Leahy has been involved with. I think that is important to do. It reflects a great legacy for our…

I now withdraw the motion. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion to proceed is withdrawn. ____________________

today the Senate will adjourn for the Presidents Day recess. When we reconvene on Monday, February 27, we will resume consideration of the PATRIOT Act amendments bill, and under the agreement reached this week, we will have a vote on the…

S. Res. 374 concerns a request for testimony, document production, and representation in a criminal case. The U.S. Department of Justice has brought a case in Federal court in the District of Columbia against the former chief of staff of…

S. Res. 375 concerns a request for testimony and representation in related criminal trespass actions in Concord District Court in the State of New Hampshire. In these actions, eight defendants have been charged with criminally trespassing…

a few moments ago the minority leader was on the floor following up on a discussion that we had had earlier today. I would like to take a moment to respond to his request regarding the pension reform bill conference committee. It looks as…

I send a cloture motion on the bill to 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…

today, by a vote of 96 to 3, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to proceed to the PATRIOT Act Amendments Act. I am disappointed that the other side of the aisle has forced us to spend these extra days, several extra days to get on to this…

the issue is an important one because of the time constraints that were outlined by my colleague from Mississippi. This is something we have to work through. It is pretty simple, pretty straightforward, as my colleague from Mississippi…

the actions just taken, coupled with the agreement we came to last night, set out a sequence I will review later today. We will have final passage once we get back from the recess. I am very disappointed in the fact that on a bill I know…

Mr. President I am reminded daily of the sacrifice of the men and women of this country who serve or have loved ones who serve in our armed forces. As a Tennessean I often think of the courage and honor displayed by members of the 101st…

Let's decide within the next hour. With the schedule, I know there is still going to be an effort to offer amendments and the like. Why don't we get together and have some sort of announcement shortly to our colleagues. The PRESIDING…

S. Res. 377 is the resolution honoring the life of Dr. Norman Shumway and expressing condolences on behalf of this body. I wish to pay tribute to a medical pioneer, a man who inaugurated a new era of medicine, my mentor in surgery and…

on S. Res. 380, I ask unanimous consent that I be added as a cosponsor, if I am not currently one. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

we are at a continuation of a sequence of events which has resulted in a lot of delay, a lot of postponement, really reflecting these insufferable attempts to put off the Nation's business with obstruction and stalling. It is disturbing to…

today we will have a 30-minute period of morning business which will be equally divided between the aisles. After that time we will begin debate on the motion to proceed to the USA PATRIOT Act. Last night there was an objection from the…

tomorrow--to explain what we did--following morning business, the Senate will resume debate on the motion to proceed to the PATRIOT Act amendments act. The cloture vote on that motion to proceed will occur at 10:30 in the morning. Under…

when we return to the asbestos bill later today, we have the motion to waive pending, and we will be talking to the two managers this morning to determine the best time for that vote to occur today. Having said that, we are going to have a…

with respect to the vote we took minutes ago on the asbestos legislation, it does mean that legislation is, in essence, off the floor now, and that we are proceeding with the consideration of the PATRIOT Act, although we have an…

I had hoped we would at least be able to proceed to that bill tonight. As our colleagues know, this bill is ready to go. It is an important bill. It is important for the safety and security of the American people. It is a bill we have…

each day, 74 people receive an organ transplant. And each day, another 18 patients die waiting. While it doesn't get a lot of public attention, for every family who struggles with the pain and uncertainty of waiting for that life saving…