[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 134 (Tuesday, September 11, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1184-D1186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                        Tuesday, September 11, 2007

[[Page D1184]]

                              Daily Digest

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S11355-S11460
Measures Introduced: Three bills and four resolutions were introduced, 
as follows: S. 2037-2039, S.J. Res. 18, and S. Res. 315-317. 
                                                            Page S11414
Measures Reported:
  S. 1138, to enhance nuclear safeguards and to provide assurances of 
nuclear fuel supply to countries that forgo certain fuel cycle 
activities. (S. Rept. No. 110-151)
  S. 1687, to provide for global pathogen surveillance and response. 
(S. Rept. No. 110-152)
  S. 1027, to prevent tobacco smuggling, to ensure the collection of 
all tobacco taxes. (S. Rept. No. 110-153)                   
Page S11413
Measures Passed:
  National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week: Senate agreed to 
S. Res. 316, designating the week of October 21 through October 27, 
2007 as ``National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week''. 
                                                            Page S11459
  Committee on Veterans' Affairs Minority Membership: Senate agreed to 
S. Res. 317, to constitute the minority party's membership on the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs for the remainder of the 110th Congress 
or until their successors are chosen.              
  Pages S11418, S11459
  Percy Sutton Post Office Building: Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 
954, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service 
located at 365 West 125th Street in New York, New York, as the ``Percy 
Sutton Post Office Building'', and the bill was then passed, clearing 
the measure for the President.                          
  Pages S11459-60
Measures Considered:
  Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act: 
Senate continued consideration of H.R. 3074, making appropriations for 
the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, 
and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, 
taking action on the following amendments proposed thereto: 
                                         Pages S11356-67, S11370-S11405
  Adopted:
  Murray (for Bingaman) Amendment No. 2794, of a perfecting nature. 
                                                            Page S11373
  Murray (for Obama) Amendment No. 2799, to provide that none of the 
funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used 
to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to 
award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective 
contractor or grantee makes certain certifications regarding Federal 
tax liability.                                              
Page S11373
  Murray (for Clinton) Amendment No. 2823, to require a report on plans 
to alleviate congestion and flight delays in the New York/New Jersey/
Philadelphia Airspace.                                  
Pages S11373-74
  Murray (for Schumer) Amendment No. 2803, to clarify how the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development shall manage and dispose of 
multifamily properties owned by the Secretary.              
Page S11374
  Klobuchar/Coleman Modified Amendment No. 2816, to make available 
amounts authorized to be appropriated for the repair and reconstruction 
of the Interstate I-35W bridge that collapsed on August 1, 2007 in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota.         
Pages S11359, S11375, S11377-78, S11381
  Inhofe Modified Amendment No. 2796, to prohibit the use of funds to 
implement the proposed Air Traffic Control Optimum Training Solution of 
the Federal Aviation Administration.               
Pages S11356, S11384
  Murray (for Bond/Dodd) Amendment No. 2832, to establish mitigation 
activities and alternatives to mortgage foreclosures when viable and to 
reasonably ensure the long-term affordability of any mortgage assisted 
under this amendment.                                    
Page S11386-87
  Murray (for Durbin) Modified Amendment No. 2800, to amend the Housing 
and Community Development Act of 1974 to treat certain communities as 
metropolitan cities for purposes of the community development block 
grant programs.                                            
Pages S11386
  Murray (for Stevens) Amendment No. 2845, to permit pilots to serve in 
multicrew covered operations until attaining 65 years of age. 
                                                         Page S11387-88

[[Page D1185]]

  By 75 yeas and 23 nays (Vote No. 331), Dorgan Amendment No. 2797, to 
prohibit the establishment of a program that allows Mexican truck 
drivers to operate beyond the commercial zones near the Mexican border.
                                     Pages S11356, S11384-85, S11388-90
  Murray (for Menendez/Launtenberg) Amendment No. 2829, to require a 
study by the Government Accountability Office on the efficacy of 
strategies used by the Federal Aviation Administration and the 
Department of Transportation to address flight delays at airports in 
the United States.                                          
Page S11404
  Murray (for Reed) Amendment No. 2852, to enable States to receive 
federally guaranteed loans for the benefit of nonentitlement areas. 
                                                            Page S11404
  Murray (for Sanders/Leahy) Amendment No. 2817, to ensure that the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development awards capital fund bonuses 
to deserving high-performing public housing authorities.    
Page S11404
  Murray (for Dorgan) Amendment No. 2819, to increase support for 
infrastructure improvements at tribal colleges and universities, with 
an offset.                                                  
Page S11404
  Murray (for Cantwell) Amendment No. 2820, to expand the scope of 
Inspector General's investigation of rail service disruptions and other 
delays in the delivery of certain commodities.              
Page S11404
  Murray (for McCaskill) Amendment No. 2830, to require the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development to establish and maintain on the 
homepage of the website of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development a direct link to the website for the Office of the 
Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 
                                                            Page S11404
  Murray (for McCaskill) Amendment No. 2831, to require the Secretary 
of Transportation to establish and maintain on the homepage of the 
website of the Department of Transportation a direct link to the 
website for the Office of Inspector General of the Department of 
Transportation.                                             
Page S11404
  Murray (for Durbin) Modified Amendment No. 2850, to provide that the 
Federal Transit Administration conduct a study to evaluate the 
infrastructure of certain rail transit systems.             
Page S11404
  Murray (for Martinez/Allard) Modified Amendment No. 2839, to direct 
funding to the American Dream Downpayment Initiative.   
Pages S11404-05
  Murray (for Dorgan) Modified Amendment No. 2846, to require the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to develop and implement a 
plan to monitor the compliance of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development with current employer relocation restrictions. 
                                                            Page S11405
  Murray (for Feingold) Modified Amendment No. 2848, to require the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to submit certain budgetary 
information to the Congress.                                
Page S11405
  Murray (for Dodd/Shelby) Amendment No. 2857, to prohibit the Federal 
Transit Administration from using funds appropriated under this Act to 
promulgate regulations to carry out section 5309 of title 49, United 
States Code.                                                
Page S11405
  Murray (for Bond/Shelby) Amendment No. 2859, to limit the amount 
available for the Urban Partnership Congestion Initiative under section 
5309 of title 49, United States Code.                       
Page S11405
  Murray (for Hutchison/Cornyn) Modified Amendment No. 2825, to 
prohibit the imposition and collection of tolls on certain highways 
constructed using Federal funds in Texas.                   
Page S11405
  Murray (for Snowe/Carper) Modified Amendment No. 2837, to encourage 
the use of recycled materials in highway projects.          
Page S11405
  Murray (for Specter) Amendment No. 2856, to strike the prohibition on 
the use of appropriations by Amtrak to support routes on which deep 
discounts are available.                                    
Page S11405
  Menendez Amendment No. 2834, to provide additional funding to the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to implement guidance in 
connection with assisting persons with limited English proficiency and 
to provide for an offset of such increase.              
Pages S11400-04
Rejected:
  Coburn Amendment No. 2810, to prohibit funds appropriated under title 
I from being used for earmarks until all structurally deficient and 
functionally obsolete bridges have been repaired, with limited 
exceptions. (By 82 yeas and 14 nays (Vote No. 330), Senate tabled the 
amendment.)                                  
Pages S11364-67, S11378-81
  By 29 yeas and 69 nays (Vote No. 332), Cornyn Amendment No. 2842, to 
ensure that every motor carrier entering the United States through the 
cross-border motor carrier demonstration program is inspected and meets 
all applicable safety standards established for United States 
commercial motor vehicles.                              
Pages S11390-94
  Coburn Amendment No. 2811, to prohibit the use of funds made 
available under this Act for bicycle paths so that the funds can be 
used to improve bridge and road safety. (By 80 yeas and 18 nays (Vote 
No. 333), Senate tabled the amendment.)         
Pages S11381-84, S11396
Withdrawn:
  Landrieu Amendment No. 2795, to provide funding for 3,000 units of 
permanent supportive housing for homeless, disabled, and elderly 
persons in the State of Louisiana.                      
Pages S11375-77
  Menendez/Lautenberg Amendment No. 2826, to require a study by the 
Government Accountability

[[Page D1186]]

Office on the efficacy of strategies used by the Federal Aviation 
Administration and the Department of Transportation to address flight 
delays at airports in the United States.    
Pages S11399-S11400, S11405
Pending:
  Coburn Amendment No. 2812, to remove an unnecessary earmark for the 
International Peace Garden in Dunseith, North Dakota. 
                                                Pages S11383, S11398-99
  Coburn Amendment No. 2813, to ensure that no funds made available 
under this Act shall be used to carry out any activity relating to the 
design or construction of the America's Wetland Center in Lake Charles, 
Louisiana, until the date on which the Secretary, in consultation with 
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the 
State of Louisiana, certifies to Congress that all residents of the 
State of Louisiana who were displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina 
or Rita in 2005 are no longer living in temporary housing. 
                                                            Page S11383
  Coburn Amendment No. 2814, to prohibit the use of funds for the 
construction of a baseball facility in Billings, Montana, and to reduce 
the amounts made available for the Economic Development Initiative and 
the Community Development Fund.      
Pages S11383, S11385-86, S11397-98
  During consideration of this measure today, the Senate also took the 
following action:
  Chair sustained a point of order that Cornyn/Inhofe Amendment No. 
2808, to express the sense of the Senate that General David H. 
Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the 
full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the 
honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all the members of the 
United States Armed Senate, was not germane, and the amendment thus 
fell.                                                   
Pages S11356-64
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that the 
following be the only amendments, other than the managers' amendment 
which has been cleared by the managers and leaders, remaining in order, 
and that no second-degree amendment be in order prior to a vote on or 
in relation to the amendments: Coburn Amendment No. 2812, Coburn 
Amendment No. 2813, Coburn Amendment No. 2814 (all listed above), and a 
DeMint amendment relating to the Davis-Bacon Act; provided further, 
that there be 2 minutes for debate prior to each vote, with the time 
equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that after the first 
vote in the sequence, the remaining votes be limited to 10 minutes; 
that upon disposition of the listed amendments, Senate vote on passage 
of the bill; provided further, that when Senate continues consideration 
of the bill at 9 a.m., on Wednesday, September 12, 2007, that there be 
20 minutes of debate with respect to the DeMint Amendment, with the 
time equally divided and controlled between Senators DeMint and 
Kennedy, or their designees.                                
Page S11460
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nominations:
  Michael David Credo, of Louisiana, to be United States Marshal for 
the Eastern District of Louisiana for the term of four years.
  Esteban Soto III, of Maryland, to be United States Marshal for the 
District of Puerto Rico for the term of four years.
  Ronald Spoehel, of Virginia, to be Chief Financial Officer, National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
  1 Marine Corps nomination in the rank of general. 
                                                   Pages S11459, S11460
Messages from the House:                                    
  Page S11409
Measures Referred:                                          
  Page S11409
Measures Placed on the Calendar:                   
  Pages S11355, S11409
Executive Communications:                               
  Pages S11409-13
Executive Reports of Committees:                        
  Pages S11413-14
Additional Cosponsors:                                  
  Pages S11414-16
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:             
  Pages S11416-18
Additional Statements:                                  
  Pages S11408-09
Amendments Submitted:                                   
  Pages S11418-32
Notices of Hearings/Meetings:                           
  Pages S11432-33
Authorities for Committees to Meet:                         
  Page S11433
Text of H.R. 2764 as Previously Passed:                 
  Pages S11433-59
Record Votes: Four record votes were taken today. (Total--333) 
                                        Pages S11381, S11393-94, S11396
Adjournment: Senate convened at 10:00 a.m. and adjourned at 9:41 p.m., 
until 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 12, 2007. (For Senate's 
program, see the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's 
Record on page S11460.)