[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 133 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11351-S11352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we haven't made as much progress on the 
Transportation bill as I had wished, but we

[[Page S11352]]

are making progress. This is what happens with these complicated bills 
on occasion. Tomorrow night people should expect votes into the night. 
It will not be an early evening tomorrow. We have a lot to do on this 
bill. I have spoken to the distinguished Republican leader. Senator 
McConnell said they will have an alternative to the Mexican truck 
measure offered by Senator Dorgan. Hopefully, sometime in the morning 
we can get those teed up for a vote. We also have been told by Senator 
Coburn that he has a number of amendments he wishes to offer. He said 
he would be here at 10:30 in the morning to begin offering those 
amendments. I have found Senator Coburn in the past doesn't need to 
talk very long, doesn't want to talk very long. I am sure that will be 
the case with this bill. I am glad he is coming over in the morning at 
10:30. If others have amendments to offer, they should do so. It is my 
understanding Senator Coburn has a number of amendments. If that is the 
case and we can't stack these votes, what we will do is, the first vote 
could come as early as 11 o'clock or thereabouts tomorrow.
  We have a lot to do. The fiscal year is coming to a close, and we 
have a number of must-do issues. We will work on those. I have spoken 
today, as I indicated, to the distinguished Republican leader about how 
we would proceed next week on Iraq matters. I think we are making 
progress on how we should proceed. These are very hotly contested 
issues, very important. We want to make sure people have the 
opportunity to speak on this without delaying things for an extended 
period of time.

  Tomorrow morning I am going to ask consent to go to conference on 
H.R. 1538, which is the Wounded Warrior/military pay raise bill. There 
was a Republican objection to that request the last time. I hope this 
time the result will be different so we can send this important bill, 
which means so much to our men in uniform, to conference. We need to 
send that to conference. So we will proceed to that unanimous consent 
request tomorrow morning. I will not do that tonight.

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