[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2405-S2406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning, we will have morning business 
until 11 a.m. At 11 o'clock, we will resume the bankruptcy legislation 
and immediately proceed to three consecutive rollcall votes. Those 
votes are on the Kennedy amendments Nos. 70 and 69, and the Akaka 
amendment No. 105. Under the order from last night, we will then have 
another series or two of stacked votes throughout the day in order to 
finish the bill.
  We will vote on final passage of the bankruptcy bill later today. It 
is going to be a very busy day, with many rollcall votes over the 
course of today. Therefore, I encourage all Members to remain close to 
the floor. We will limit all votes, after the first in the series, to 
10 minutes in length. I encourage my colleagues to stay nearby so that 
we do not have to extend this limit. It is always difficult, and we 
always have excuses as people come in a few minutes late, but on a day 
like today we need--we will; not need--we will finish this bill. We 
will have a lot of votes over the course of today. We have to have all 
of our colleagues understand that they need to come and vote, and vote 
on time.
  Over the course of the day, we will consider the bankruptcy bill. It 
is a bill we have worked on for not just the last 2 weeks solidly but 
really for the last about 7 years or 8 years, almost in the same form 
that is being addressed today. It has been talked about, has been 
discussed, has been debated, and has been modified.
  Later today, we will have a great victory again for the American 
people in passing the bill that I expect will pass with overwhelming 
bipartisan support. The issues that we are talking about are not 
Democrat issues or Republican issues; they really are American issues. 
Today, people will be able to look back over the course of the last 2 
weeks, and really this whole 109th Congress, and say that we are doing 
what the American people want, what they deserve; that is, to govern 
with meaningful solutions to the very real challenges, the very real 
problems in people's lives, whether it is in Tennessee or Florida or 
Nevada or California, all over this country. So I am very pleased with 
the activity on the floor of the Senate.

[[Page S2406]]

  Over the course of the day, the Budget Committee will also be marking 
up the budget proposal. Once that markup is completed, we will bring 
that to the floor. I would very much like to be able to start that 
bill, if at all possible, tomorrow. Under the rules of the Senate, 
after that bill comes to the floor, we will spend 50 hours on that 
bill, and we will have a number of votes.
  Once again, historically, or in the recent past, we have had 
amendment after amendment after amendment. The Democratic leader and I 
have, over the last week, been engaged in discussions on how we can 
help the managers of that bill limit the amendments to those amendments 
that really are important and substantive and to have a good discussion 
between us and between the managers, among all the Senators, so we can 
coordinate how to bring those amendments to the floor and have them 
voted upon so that we do not, at the end of the day, or at the end of 
that 50 hours, have 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 amendments, which we 
have seen in the past. It is not necessary.
  If we can work together over the course of the next 8 or 9 days, I 
believe we can take what can be very chaotic on the floor and give it 
some definition and make it clear to people we want their ideas heard, 
we want them debated within the 50 hours, we want to have them voted 
upon, but we can do it in a way that brings order out of this sometimes 
chaotic process.
  With that, Mr. President, I will yield the floor, looking forward to 
a very full day. We will be in session tomorrow. I would think--and I 
will have more to say a little bit later, but in talking to the 
Democratic leader, if we can complete the budget today in committee, 
and I believe we can, and if we complete this bankruptcy bill, which we 
will, then I would think we probably would not have to have rollcall 
votes tomorrow. We will be in session tomorrow. I put both of those 
``ifs'' in there because we have to move forward and accomplish the 
business before us. If we were unable to finish those two things, we 
would have to be in tomorrow with rollcall votes.
  But our goal is to complete the markup on the budget and complete the 
bankruptcy bill today. I would like to do it in the late afternoon. If 
not, we will go into the evening until we complete both.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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