[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4397-S4398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. For the information of all Senators, this morning there 
will be a period for morning business until 11:30 a.m. A number of 
Members have requested time to make remarks regarding our courageous 
men and women of the Armed Forces, and this morning will be an 
opportunity for them to do that.
  At 11:30, we will resume consideration of the budget resolution. We 
made substantial progress yesterday. Of the 22 amendments remaining on 
the list, far fewer will be offered and require votes. We will resume 
voting on the offered amendments at 11:30 a.m. and will continue voting 
over the course of the afternoon until we reach passage of the 
resolution.
  Under the consent agreement reached last week, we will vote on 
adoption of the budget resolution at 4 p.m. today. It may be possible 
to complete action on the resolution earlier than that, but we will 
have to wait and see how many amendments will actually necessitate 
votes over the course of the late morning and early afternoon. To this 
point, we have had 45 rollcall votes on this budget resolution.
  I take this opportunity to congratulate the chairman and ranking 
member for their orderly consideration of this very important measure. 
I will have more to say about their good work as we approach passage 
over the course of the afternoon.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. While the majority leader is in the Chamber, on behalf of 
the Senate, I commend him and the minority leader for the arrangement 
that was made. This legislation upon which we work is almost impossible 
to go through each year, but we have done it. This year has been about 
as orderly as I have seen. I know the leader wanted to finish this bill 
last week, but it was just impossible to do, no matter what his wishes 
were. The work that the majority leader and Senator Daschle have done 
to allow us to get to this point has made it possible that the two 
managers could do the great work they have done to move this 
legislation along.
  As I heard one Senator say last night, this is the Senate at its 
best. I

[[Page S4398]]

believe we have had good, short debate and we have had some spirited 
voting. I hope we can continue that today, which I am confident we 
will, and make this one of the most productive weeks we have had in a 
long time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. FRIST. I thank the assistant minority leader for his comments. 
Indeed, I believe that by 4 p.m. today the product we end up with will 
reflect the will of the Senate after adequate time for debate, 
discussion, and time for people to express both their feelings and 
their convictions. We will have a product of which we will all be 
proud, where neither side will agree with it in its entirety.
  We have a lot of work to do. I appreciate the comments and look 
forward to a productive day.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Virginia.

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