[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 163 (Tuesday, November 11, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S14417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004--CONFERENCE 
                       REPORT--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, it is my hope that we can go next to the 
Defense authorization conference report. We have some Senators who may 
want to make closing remarks, and then we would like to adopt this 
important conference report during today's session. I think it is 
fitting that the Senate act on this measure today, on Veterans Day.
  Having said that, I ask my Democratic colleagues if they are prepared 
to allow for a 3-hour debate limitation prior to a vote on adoption of 
the Defense conference report.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we have no problem going to the conference 
report today. We do not need a vote on the motion to proceed. We would 
go to that. We have our Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Senator 
Inouye, who asked to be present when we vote on this conference report, 
and I think we should do that. He is somebody we all look upon as a 
hero, and he is doing veterans ceremonies in his State. We have no 
problem debating the bill today.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
  Senator Stevens told me he would be back here at about 6:30.
  Mr. REID. We would be happy to have 4 hours of debate today, equally 
divided, and a vote on it early in the morning, but we would rather not 
vote on the matter today. I would be happy to offer a consent request 
that we would complete our debate on it today, and vote on it, with 
maybe 5 minutes equally divided, early in the morning, at whatever time 
the leader chooses.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we have a number of Senators who believe 
strongly that we ought to go ahead and bring this bill up, that we 
should debate it, and that on Veterans Day we should have that 
opportunity to vote on that bill, if at all possible. Therefore, I will 
not agree to put the vote off until tomorrow. We will be bringing it to 
the floor, and I think then we will have discussion, debate today, on 
this Veterans Day. We will see how it goes, and we may or may not be 
voting later tonight.
  Mr. President, reclaiming the floor, thus, we have Members who would 
like this rollcall vote. Having said that, I move that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 
1588, the National Defense Authorization Act, and I ask for the yeas 
and nays on the motion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Chafee). Is there a sufficient second?
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, if I could ask a question.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, could we keep this vote open for a little 
extra time, maybe an extra 20 minutes? We need 30 minutes because we 
have a Senator who is 30 minutes away. I know it is unusual to have a 
vote that long, but maybe this one time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is not debatable. It would require 
a unanimous consent.
  Mr. REID. I withdraw any request I have.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to 
proceed to the consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 
1588. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. 
Campbell), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Hagel), and the Senator from 
Arizona (Mr. Kyl) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Bayh), the 
Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from North Carolina 
(Mr. Edwards), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from 
Hawaii (Mr. Inouye), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the 
Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. 
Miller), and the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Nelson) are necessarily 
absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) and the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Nelson) 
would each vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 87, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 446 Leg.]

                                YEAS--87

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nickles
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

       
     Byrd
       

                             NOT VOTING--12

     Bayh
     Boxer
     Campbell
     Edwards
     Graham (FL)
     Hagel
     Inouye
     Kerry
     Kyl
     Lieberman
     Miller
     Nelson (NE)
  The motion was agreed to.

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