[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 63 (Thursday, April 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S4724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S4724]]
                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this morning there will be a period of 
morning business for 60 minutes, Republicans controlling the first half 
and the majority controlling the last portion of the time. Following 
the period of morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of 
S. 378, the court security legislation. Cloture was filed on the bill. 
Members have until 1 p.m. today to file any first-degree amendments to 
the matter.
  I am confident and I am hopeful that we will finish that bill today 
and be able to move, either this evening or tomorrow, to the matter 
dealing with competitiveness. Everyone should be made aware of the fact 
that we have at least 50 cosponsors of that legislation, so there will 
be no cloture filed to move to it or after we are on it. This is a bill 
that we should be able to complete without any procedural blocks of any 
kind from either side. But we are going to finish the court security 
bill before we leave this week. That may take a little extra time, but 
I think it is something we all need to do.
  Coincidentally, yesterday, as I indicated on the Senate floor, the 
head of the Marshals Service, Mr. Clark, came to see me. The meeting 
had been long since scheduled. It was not scheduled as a result of this 
matter being on the floor of the Senate. He indicated that violence 
against Federal judges was up 17 percent last year; that there were 
more than 1,000 open threats against members of the Federal judiciary 
last year. This does not take into consideration the many instances of 
threats and actual violence in the State courts. This legislation will 
not only make safer the people who work in the Federal courts, 
including the judges, but also has the ability to make our State courts 
safer.
  We need not be reminded too often of what has happened in recent 
years. In Illinois, a crazed litigant waited in a judge's home. When 
the family came home--not the judge, just the family members--they were 
killed. In Nevada, a man who was dissatisfied with what a judge was 
doing shot the judge. We know what happened in Georgia, where violence 
took place and people were killed.
  This is something we really need to do. Time is of the essence. I 
understand there are some amendments today, and that is fine. We will 
dispose of those just as quickly as we can. I hope we do not have to 
file cloture on the bill.
  That is the next thing. I appreciate very much the Republican leader 
doing what was necessary so we could move to the bill immediately after 
cloture was invoked on the motion to proceed. This is important 
legislation, and we should finish it as quickly as we can.
  I also want to acknowledge that all Judiciary Committee members are 
tied up in the Judiciary Committee today, Democrats and Republicans, 
because Attorney General Gonzales is appearing before them in his much 
anticipated hearing. As a result of that, we didn't have a manager of 
the bill. Sherrod Brown, a longtime Member of the House and new Member 
of the Senate, has agreed to manage this bill, and that will be done on 
this side. There are no excuses. We need to move forward. We have a 
manager. We will make sure everything is done in an appropriate manner.
  We hope anyone who has amendments to offer will do so. There is 
nothing pending at this time, as I understand it. I say to the Chair, 
is that true, that this bill is open to amendment at the present time?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. REID. The bill is open to amendment. We hope if people, Democrats 
or Republicans, think this bill can be improved, they will offer 
amendments.

                          ____________________