[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D326-D328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                          Wednesday, April 13, 2005

[[Page D326]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      The House passed H.R. 8, Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005.
      House Committees ordered reported 24 sundry measures, including 
      Energy proposals.

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S3505-S3607
Measures Introduced: Eleven bills and one resolution were introduced, 
as follows: S. 769-779, and S. Res. 106.
  Page S3555
Measures Reported:
  Special Report entitled ``The Role of Professional Firms in the U.S. 
Tax Shelter Industry''. (S. Rept. No. 109-54)
  Special Report entitled ``Profiteering in a Non-Profit Industry: 
Abusive Practices in Credit Counseling''. (S. Rept. No. 109-55)
  S. 362, to establish a program within the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration and the United States Coast Guard to help 
identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine 
debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigation 
safety, in coordination with non-Federal entities, with an amendment. 
(S. Rept. No. 109-56)
  S. 39, to establish a coordinated national ocean explorationprogram 
within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (S. Rept. 
No. 109-57)
  S. 148, to establish a United States Boxing Commission toadminister 
the Act. (S. Rept. No. 109-58)
Page S3555
Measures Passed:
  Disaster Mitigation Payments: Committee on Finance was discharged 
from further consideration of H.R. 1134, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to provide for the proper tax treatment of certain 
disaster mitigation payments, after agreeing to the following amendment 
proposed thereto:
  Sessions (for Baucus) Amendment No. 411, in the nature of a 
substitute.
Pages S3604-05
  Congratulating University of Denver Men's Hockey Team NCAA Champions: 
Senate agreed to S. Res. 106, congratulating the University of Denver 
Pioneer's men's hockey team, 2005 National Collegiate Athletic 
Association Division I Hockey Champions.
  Pages S3605-06
Supplemental Appropriations: Senate continued consideration of H.R. 
1268, making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2005, to establish and rapidly implement 
regulations for State driver's license and identification document 
security standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws 
of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for 
inadmissibility and removal, to ensure expeditious construction of the 
San Diego border fence, taking action on the following amendments 
proposed thereto:
  Pages S3513-48
Adopted:
  Durbin Amendment No. 356, to ensure that a Federal employee who takes 
leave without pay in order to perform service as a member of the 
uniformed services or member of the National Guard shall continue to 
receive pay in an amount which, when taken together with the pay and 
allowances such individual is receiving for such service, will be no 
less than the basic pay such individual would then be receiving if no 
interruption in employment had occurred. (By 39 yeas to 61 nays (Vote 
No. 91), Senate earlier failed to table the amendment.) 
                                                         Pages S3518-20
  Kerry Amendment No. 333, to extend the period of temporary 
continuation of basic allowance for housing for dependents of members 
of the Armed Forces who die on active duty.
Pages S3520-21
  Kerry Amendment No. 334, to increase the military death gratuity to 
$100,000, effective with respect to any deaths of members of the Armed 
Forces

[[Page D327]]

on active duty after October 7, 2001. (By 25 yeas to 75 nays (Vote No. 
92), Senate earlier failed to table the amendment.) 
                                               Pages S3517-18, S3521-22
  By 61 yeas to 38 nays (Vote No. 94), Cornyn/Feinstein Amendment No. 
372, to express the sense of the Senate that Congress should not delay 
enactment of critical appropriations necessary to ensure the well-being 
of the men and women of the United States Armed Forces fighting in Iraq 
and elsewhere around the world, by attempting to conduct a debate about 
immigration reform while the supplemental appropriations bill is 
pending on the floor of the United States Senate.
Pages S3523-32
  Stevens/Inouye Amendment No. 386, to provide for an increase in the 
amountappropriated for the Intelligence Community Management Account. 
                                                             Page S3532
  Cochran (for McConnell) Amendment No. 401, of a technical nature. 
                                                             Page S3542
  Cochran (for McConnell) Amendment No. 402, to address the avian 
influenza virus in Asia.
Page S3542
  Cochran (for Lugar/Biden) Amendment No. 403, to provide additional 
amounts for diplomatic and consular programs and reduce the amount 
available for the Global War on Terror Partners Fund.
Page S3542
  Cochran (for Leahy) Amendment No. 404, to modify language in the bill 
relating to environmental recovery activities in tsunami affected 
countries.
Page S3542
  Cochran (for Leahy) Amendment No. 405, to require five day prior 
notification to the Committees on Appropriations for tsunami recovery 
and reconstruction funds.
Page S3542
Rejected:
  By 27 yeas to 71 nays (Vote No. 93), Byrd Amendment No. 367, to 
reduce by$36,000,000 the amount appropriated for ``Military 
Construction, Army'', with the amount of the reduction to be allocated 
to funds available under that heading for the Camp 6 Detention Facility 
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Pages S3515-17, S3522-23
Pending:
   Mikulski Amendment No. 387, to revise certain requirements for H-2B 
employers and require submission of information regarding H-2B 
nonimmigrants.
Pages S3532-40, S3541-42
  Feinstein Amendment No. 395, to express the sense of the Senate that 
the text of the REAL ID Act of 2005 should not be included in the 
conference report.
Pages S3540-41
  Bayh Amendment No. 406, to protect the financial condition of members 
of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who are ordered to long-
term active duty in support of a contingency operation. 
                                                         Pages S3542-48
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the bill at approximately 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, 
April 14, 2005.
Pages S3606-07
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nomination:
  Michael D. Griffin, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Prior to this action, Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation was discharged from further 
consideration.)
Page S3607
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nomination:
  Robert J. Portman, of Ohio, to be United States Trade Representative, 
with the rank of Ambassador.
Page S3607
Nominations Discharged: The following nominations were discharged from 
further committee consideration and placed on the Executive Calendar:
  Daniel R. Levinson, of Maryland, to be Inspector General, Department 
of Health and Human Services, which was sent to the Senate on January 
24, 2005, from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs.
  Howard J. Krongard, of New Jersey, to be Inspector General, 
Department of State, which was sent to the Senate on January 24, 2005, 
from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
Page S3607
Messages From the House:
  Page S3552
Measures Referred:
  Page S3552
Executive Communications:
  Pages S3552-55
Executive Reports of Committees:
  Page S3555
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages S3555-57
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:
  Pages S3557-66
Additional Statements:
  Pages S3550-52
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S3566-S3602
Authority for Committees to Meet:
  Pages S3602-03
Privilege of the Floor:
  Page S3603
Record Votes: Four record votes were taken today. (Total--94) 
                                        Page S3520, S3521, S3523, S3532
Adjournment: Senate convened at 9:30 a.m., and adjourned at 8:11 p.m., 
until 9:30 a.m., on Thursday, April 14, 2005. (For Senate's program, 
see the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S3607.)

[[Page D328]]