[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 18, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S8009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today the Senate will be in a period for 
morning business until 10 a.m. At 10 a.m., the Senate will resume 
consideration of S. 1, the prescription drug benefits bill. Chairman 
Grassley will be in the Chamber at that time and will be prepared to 
offer the necessary changes to the legislation. It is then hoped we 
will begin an orderly consideration of amendments.
  I know there are a number of Members on both sides of the aisle 
considering offering amendments. I encourage Senators to work with the 
chairman and ranking member, the managers of the bill, to schedule 
consideration of those amendments. As amendments are offered, we will 
begin scheduling votes in order to make progress on this bill over the 
course of this week.
  As I had laid out previously, we will finish the legislation prior to 
the July 4 recess. I look forward to substantive debate as we go 
forward in addressing this bill.
  We will have rollcall votes throughout today's session. For the 
information of all Senators so they can plan for the next week and a 
half, we will have votes on Friday and next Monday on this bill. We 
have had two good days of substantive opening statements where Members 
have been allowed to discuss their views on this important program of 
Medicare, how we can best strengthen it, how we can best improve it, 
and at the same time add a substantial prescription drug benefit in a 
way that can be sustained over the next 10, 15, 20 years, where we know 
there is going to be this unprecedented demographic shift of doubling 
of the number of seniors over the next 30 years.

  So I am very pleased with the bipartisan progress we have made to 
date. I am pleased that we will be able to go with amendments early in 
the course of today and look forward to addressing a number of those 
amendments over the course of the day.

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