This bill, the Terrorism Risk Extension Act, was enacted 3 years ago in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and was intended at the time to provide temporary mechanisms to allow the marketplace to adapt after the economic…

as I stated earlier this morning and yesterday, I oppose a short-term extension of the PATRIOT Act. The House opposes such an extension. The President will not sign such an extension. Why? Because extending the PATRIOT Act for a short…

that particular bill, the Coast Guard Hurricane Relief Act of 2005, again gives me the opportunity to comment and really praise the tremendous work that was carried out by our Coast Guard in the recent hurricanes. Many of us had the…

the PATRIOT Act remains on the floor. I switched my vote in order to recommit. So in essence, it is 53 to 47. I simply ask that debate continue. Let everybody look at what is in the bill. We have had excellent debate the last couple of…

with regard to the unanimous consent request, I need to be clear once again, and I have over the last couple of days, that I absolutely oppose a short-term extension of the PATRIOT Act. The House of Representatives opposes such an…

this morning, after 30 minutes of morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the PATRIOT Act conference report. At approximately 11 a.m, the Senate will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the PATRIOT Act. It is my hope…

I now 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 Vermont.

the PATRIOT Act expires on December 31, but the terrorist threat does not. We have a clear choice before us today: Do we advance against terrorism to make America safer or do we retreat to the days before 9/11, when terrorists slipped…

I ask unanimous consent the Chair now lay before the Senate the House message to accompany S. 467, a bill to extend the applicability of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002. The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following…

today marks a proud and momentous day in Iraq's history. Today, on December 15, 2005, 15 million registered voters will go to the polls to choose their first permanently elected government in modern Iraqi history. Along with them, Iraqis…

over the next few moments I will be addressing an issue that affects potentially thousands of people today who are without therapy or who have debilitating diseases, and then begin a brief discussion on what is called the cord blood bill…

the case, I think, to be made is whether we can address this particular bill, where 100 percent of the body is for it. It will save lives today and tomorrow. There is a whole range of bills. We have the embryonic stem cell bill and we…

therefore, Senators can expect three votes beginning at 11:45 today. The remaining motions will be debated this morning and this afternoon, and those votes will be scheduled for Thursday afternoon at approximately 3:30. Today we expect the…

let me very briefly close in stating my strong support for the legislation, the substance of the legislation, but also underscore the importance of this Senate acting on this legislation. I encourage our colleagues who have talked about…

I briefly speak to an issue that is important to me and important to the American people. As we continue our debate on the PATRIOT Act conference report, I call my colleagues' attention to a special crimefighting provision that promises to…

this morning the Senate will begin a 30- minute period of morning business. When that time has expired, we will begin consideration of the House message to accompany the deficit reduction bill. Last night the agreement we entered allows…

we will be very brief. I know we have two of our colleagues on the floor prepared to speak. What we have just done is turn to the conference report on the PATRIOT Act, a vitally important piece of legislation, that in bipartisan way our…

today, after a period of morning business, the Senate will debate the Bahrain Free Trade Agreement under a 60- minute time agreement reached last night. Later today, we will also begin debate on the motions to instruct conferees with…

elections are currently underway in Iraq. It is very exciting. The election formally in Iraq itself will be Thursday, although in the United States those Iraqi citizens are voting. They are actually voting in Tennessee at one of those…

I wish to comment just very briefly on what is going on over the course of this week in Iraq, as it focuses on Iraqi democracy and the process that has begun in this country today and will continue through Thursday when the elections are…

under the time agreement that we just entered into this evening, we have a number of motions to instruct conferees with respect to the deficit reduction bill that we will debate and vote on over the next 2 days. We will vote on three of…

the Bahrain free-trade agreement is a very important agreement that reflects in this post-9/11 environment the recommendation that had been made in terms of facilitating trade to nations such as Bahrain. I am delighted we were able to both…

To put threats of filibuster aside before we have even had the hearings. I am not bringing up filibuster.

I didn't bring it up yesterday. I responded to a question, and then I did cite what six Democratic Senators have said and what eight newspapers have said about what is coming from the other side. But I think it is time to put it aside and…

It is not in the Constitution that a Senator specifically has the right for an up-or-down vote. I am saying the dignity of the institution to give advice and consent deserves an up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate. What the…