[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 161 (Tuesday, October 23, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1401-D1403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                          Tuesday, October 23, 2007

[[Page D1401]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate passed H.R. 3043, Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S13205-S13271
Measures Introduced: Six bills were introduced, as follows: S. 2216-
2221.
  Page S13261
Measures Reported:
  S. 1845, to provide for limitations in certain communications between 
the Department of Justice and the White House Office relating to civil 
and criminal investigations, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. (S. Rept. No. 110-203)
Page S13261
Measures Passed:
  Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act: By 75 yeas to 19 nays (Vote 
No. 391), Senate passed H.R. 3043, making appropriations for the 
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and 
related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, after 
taking action on the following amendments proposed thereto: 
                                             Pages S13206-18, S13218-42
Adopted:
  Roberts Amendment No. 3365 (to Amendment No. 3325), to fund the small 
business child care grant program.
Pages S13206, S13209-10
  By 65 yeas to 28 nays (Vote No. 383), Enzi Amendment No. 3437 (to 
Amendment No. 3325), to prohibit the use of funds to modify certain 
HIV/AIDS funding formulas.
Pages S13206-09, S13214-15
  Harkin (for Smith) Modified Amendment No. 3351 (to Amendment No. 
3325), to provide funds for programs under the Older Americans Act of 
1965, for supportive services and senior centers to allow area agencies 
on aging to account for projected growth in the population of older 
individuals and inflation, for congregate and home-delivered nutrition 
services to help account for increased gas and food costs, and for the 
National Family Caregiver Support Program to fund the program at the 
level authorized for that program, for fiscal year 2008. 
                                                        Pages S13216-17
  Harkin (for Smith/Biden) Modified Amendment No. 3376 (to Amendment 
No. 3325), to provide funding for the National Violent Death Reporting 
System within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
                                                        Pages S13216-17
  Harkin (for Lautenberg) Amendment No. 3397 (to Amendment No. 3325), 
to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to 
submit a report to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate on 
workers' compensation set-asides under the Medicare secondary payer 
set-aside provisions under title XVIII of the Social Security Act. 
                                                        Pages S13216-17
  Harkin (for Cardin) Amendment No. 3401 (to Amendment No. 3325), to 
express the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services should maintain ``deemed status'' coverage under the Medicare 
program for clinical trials that are federally funded or reviewed as 
provided for by the Executive Memorandum of June 2000. 
                                                        Pages S13216-17
  Harkin (for Feingold) Modified Amendment No. 3430 (to Amendment No. 
3325), to require the Comptroller General of the United States to 
submit a report to Congress on the strategies utilized to assist 
students in meeting State student academic achievement standards, 
including achieving proficiency on State academic assessments. 
(Subsequent to its adoption, the amendment was further modified.) 
                                                        Pages S13216-17
  Harkin (for Hatch) Amendment No. 3436 (to Amendment No. 3325), to 
assess the impact of education funding in western states with a high 
proportion of public lands.
Pages S13216-17
  Harkin (for Lieberman/Dodd) Amendment No. 3418 (to Amendment No. 
3325), to prohibit the use of funds to close a field office of the 
Social Security Administration before submission of a report justifying 
the closure.
Pages S13216-17
  Harkin (for DeMint) Amendment No. 3388 (to Amendment No. 3325), to 
prohibit the use of funds

[[Page D1402]]

by cities that provide safe havens to illegal drug users. 
                                                        Pages S13216-17
  Kerry Amendment No. 3398 (to Amendment No. 3325), to provide funding 
for the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program. 
                                                        Pages S13217-18
  Harkin (for Hatch/Bennett) Modified Amendment No. 3443 (to Amendment 
No. 3325), to provide for a study on retreat room and pillar mining 
practices.
Page S13224
  Harkin (for Kennedy) Modified Amendment No. 3433 (to Amendment No. 
3325), to require the Secretary of Education to negotiate or 
renegotiate a voluntary flexible agreement so that the agreement is 
cost neutral.
Page S13225
  By a unanimous vote of 92 yeas (Vote No. 386), Cardin Amendment No. 
3400 (to Amendment No. 3325), to provide support to Iraqis and Afghans 
who arrive in the United States under the Special Immigrant Visa 
program.
Pages S13206, S13225
  By 91 yeas to 3 nays (Vote No. 387), Ensign Amendment No. 3342 (to 
Amendment No. 3325), to prohibit the use of funds to administer Society 
Security benefit payments under a totalization agreement with Mexico. 
                                     Pages S13206, S13222-23, S13225-26
  By 92 yeas to 2 nays (Vote No. 388), Ensign Amendment No. 3352 (to 
Amendment No. 3325), to prohibit the use of funds to process claims 
based on illegal work for purposes of receiving Social Security 
benefits.
Pages S13206, S13223, S13226
  Vitter Modified Amendment No. 3328 (to Amendment No. 3325), of a 
perfecting nature.
Pages S13206, S13226-27
  By 88 yeas to 6 nays (Vote No. 389), Bingaman Modified Amendment No. 
3440 (to Amendment No. 3325), of a perfecting nature.
Page S13227
  Grassley/Sanders Modified Amendment No. 3396 (to Amendment No. 3325), 
to invest in innovation and education to improve the competitiveness of 
the United States in the global economy.
Pages S13227-29
  Harkin (for Durbin) Amendment No. 3449 (to Amendment No. 3404), to 
increase the number of nursing faculty and students in the United 
States, to encourage global health care cooperation.
Pages S13229-30
  Harkin (for Schumer/Hutchison) Amendment No. 3404 (to Amendment No. 
3325), to increase the domestic supply of nurses and physical 
therapists.
Pages S13229-30
  Harkin (for DeMint) Amendment No. 3450 (to Amendment No. 3325), to 
prevent Federal employees from purchasing unnecessary first class or 
premium class airline tickets at taxpayers' expense.
Page S13230
  Harkin/Specter Amendment No. 3325, in the nature of a substitute. 
                                             Pages S13206-18, S13218-41
Rejected:
  Coburn Amendment No. 3358 (to Amendment No. 3325), to require 
Congress to provide health care for all children in the U.S. before 
funding special interest pork projects. (By 68 yeas to 26 nays (Vote 
No. 384), Senate tabled the amendment). 
                                        Pages S13206, S13212-14, S13215
  DeMint Amendment No. 3387 (to Amendment No. 3325), to replace non-
competitive earmarks for the AFL-CIO with competitive grants. (By 60 
yeas to 34 nays (Vote No. 385), Senate tabled the amendment). 
                                             Pages S13210-12, S13215-16
  By 40 yeas to 54 nays (Vote No. 390), McConnell/Lott motion to 
recommit the bill to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions 
to report the same back to the Senate with the total discretionary 
amounts not to exceed the amount, one hundred forty billion, nine 
hundred twenty million dollars ($140,920,000,000), recommended in the 
President's budget submitted to Congress for Fiscal Year 2008. 
                                                        Pages S13230-32
Withdrawn:
  Lautenberg/Snowe Amendment No. 3350 (to Amendment No. 3325), to 
prohibit the use of funds to provide abstinence education that includes 
information that is medically inaccurate.
Pages S13206, S13217
  Landrieu Amendment No. 3446 (to Amendment No. 3325), relative to the 
Elementary and Secondary School Counseling program. 
                                                   Pages S13206, S13217
  Dorgan Amendment No. 3345 (to Amendment No. 3325), to require that 
the Secretary of Labor report to Congress regarding jobs lost and 
created as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement. 
                                                   Pages S13206, S13224
  Chambliss Modified Amendment No. 3391 (to Amendment No. 3325), to 
provide for a declaration of a public health emergency with respect to 
Sumter County, Georgia.
Pages S13206, S13230
  Senate insisted on its amendment, requested a conference with the 
House thereon, and the Chair was authorized to appoint the following 
conferees on the part of the Senate: Senators Harkin, Inouye, Kohl, 
Murray, Landrieu, Durbin, Reed, Lautenberg, Byrd, Specter, Cochran, 
Gregg, Craig, Hutchison, Stevens, Shelby, and Domenici. 
                                                   Pages S13224, S13242
DREAM Act--Agreement: A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached 
providing that on Wednesday, October 24, 2007, following disposition of 
the nomination of Leslie Southwick, of Mississippi, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit, Senate resume consideration of the 
motion to proceed to consideration of S. 2205, to authorize the 
cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien 
students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the 
United

[[Page D1403]]

States as children, provided that there be 20 minutes of debate equally 
divided between the Majority and Republican Leaders, or their 
designees, prior to the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the 
motion to proceed to consideration of the bill.
  Page S13224
Removal of Injunction of Secrecy: The injunction of secrecy was removed 
from the following treaty:
  Protocol of Amendments to Convention on International Hydrographic 
Organization (Treaty Doc. No. 110-9).
  The treaty was transmitted to the Senate today, considered as having 
been read for the first time, and referred, with accompanying papers, 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed. 
                                                            Page S13270
Southwick Nomination--Agreement: Senate began consideration of the 
nomination of Leslie Southwick, of Mississippi, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit.
  Pages S13242-54
  A motion was entered to close further debate on the nomination, and, 
in accordance with the provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of 
the Senate, and pursuant to the unanimous-consent agreement of Tuesday, 
October 23, 2007, a vote on cloture will occur at 11:00 a.m., on 
Wednesday, October 24, 2007.
Page S13242
  A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the nomination at 9:00 a.m., on Wednesday, October 24, 
2007, with 2 hours of debate equally divided between the Chairman and 
Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary, or their designees, 
that the time from 10:40 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. be divided and 
controlled by the Majority and Republican Leaders, that the Majority 
Leader control the final 10 minutes, and Senate then vote on the motion 
to invoke cloture thereon, and that if cloture is invoked Senate then 
vote immediately on confirmation of the nomination; provided further, 
that if cloture is not invoked on the nomination, the nomination be 
returned to the calendar.
Page S13270
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations:
  James Shinn, of New Jersey, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense.
  Robert A. Sturgell, of Maryland, to be Administrator of the Federal 
Aviation Administration for the term of five years.
  Routine lists in the Foreign Service.
Pages S13270-71
Messages from the House:
  Pages S13257-58
Measures Referred:
  Page S13258
Measures Placed on the Calendar:
  Page S13258
Measures Read the First Time:
  Page S13258
Petitions and Memorials:
  Pages S13258-61
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages S13261-63
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:
  Pages S13263-67
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S13267-69
Authorities for Committees to Meet:
  Pages S13269-70
Record Votes: Nine record votes were taken today. (Total--391) 
           Pages S13215, S13216, S13225, S13226, S13227, S13232, S13242
Adjournment: Senate convened at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 9:28 p.m., 
until 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. (For Senate's program, see 
the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S13270.)