[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D277-D278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                          Wednesday, March 12, 2008

[[Page D277]]

                              Daily Digest

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S1915-S2032
Measures Introduced: Nine bills and two resolutions were introduced, as 
follows: S. 2745-2753, S.J. Res. 29, and S. Res. 480.
  Pages S1998-99
Measures Reported:
  Report to accompany S. 901, to amend the Public Health Service Act to 
provide additional authorizations of appropriations for the health 
centers program under section 330 of such Act. (S. Rept. No. 110-274)
  S. 980, to amend the Controlled Substances Act to address online 
pharmacies, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
                                                             Page S1998
Measures Passed:
  Agricultural Programs Extension: Senate passed S. 2745, to extend 
agricultural programs beyond March 15, 2008, to suspend permanent price 
support authorities beyond that date.
  Pages S1916-17
Measures Considered:
Budget Resolution: Senate continued consideration of S. Con. Res. 70, 
setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government 
for fiscal year 2009 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for 
fiscal years 2008 and 2010 through 2013, taking action on the following 
amendments proposed there to:
  Pages S1916, S1917-92, S2029-32
Pending:
  Baucus Amendment No. 4160, to provide tax relief to middle-class 
families and small businesses, property tax relief to homeowners, 
relief to those whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita, and tax relief to America's troops and veterans. 
                                                             Page S1916
  Graham Amendment No. 4170, to protect families, family farms and 
small businesses by extending the income tax rate structure, raising 
the death tax exemption to $5,000,000 and reducing the maximum death 
tax rate to no more than 35 percent; to keep education affordable by 
extending the college tuition deduction; and to protect senior citizens 
from higher taxes on their retirement income, maintain U.S. financial 
market competitiveness, and promote economic growth by extending the 
lower tax rates on dividends and capital gains.
Page S1916
  Bingaman Amendment No. 4173, to provide additional funding resources 
in fiscal year 2009 for investments in innovation and education in 
order to improve the competitiveness of the United States. 
                                                         Pages S1917-21
  Gregg (for Specter/Craig) Amendment No. 4189, to repeal section 13203 
of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 by restoring the 
Alternative Minimum Tax rates that had been in effect prior thereto. 
                                                         Pages S1921-22
  Conrad Amendment No. 4190, to add a deficit-neutral reserve fund for 
repealing the 1993 rate increase for the alternative minimum tax for 
individuals.
Page S1922
  Kyl Amendment No. 4191, to protect small businesses, family ranches 
and farms from the Death Tax by providing a $5 million exemption, a low 
rate for smaller estates and a maximum rate no higher than 35%. 
                                                         Pages S1922-26
  Conrad (for Salazar) Modified Amendment No. 4196, to reform the 
estate tax to avoid subjecting thousands of families, family 
businesses, and family farms and ranches to the estate tax. 
                                               Pages S1922-32, S1940-46
  Bunning Amendment No. 4192, to repeal the tax increase on Social 
Security benefits imposed by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1993.
Pages S1932-39
  Conrad Amendment No. 4204, to add a deficit-neutral reserve fund for 
repealing the 1993 increase in the income tax on Social Security 
benefits.
Page S1939
  Gregg (for Specter) Amendment No. 4203, to increase funding for the 
National Institutes of Health and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
Program.
Page S1939
  Dorgan Amendment No. 4198, to increase the Indian Health Service by 
$1,000,000,000 in fiscal year 2009.
Pages S1939-40
  Alexander Amendment No. 4207, to establish a deficit-neutral reserve 
fund to improve energy efficiency and production.
Page S1940
  Kennedy Amendment No. 4151, to add a deficit-neutral reserve fund for 
increasing federal student

[[Page D278]]

loan limits to protect students against disruptions in the private 
credit markets.
Page S1946-49
  Sununu Amendment No. 4221, to save lives, promote overall health care 
efficiency, and lower the cost for the delivery of health care services 
by facilitating the deployment and use of electronic prescribing 
technologies by physicians.
Pages S1949-50
  Murray (for Lincoln) Amendment No. 4194, to provide the Veterans 
Benefits Administration with additional resources to more effectively 
meet their increasing workload and to better address the unacceptably 
large claims backlog.
Pages S1950-53
  Alexander Amendment No. 4222, to take $670,000 used by the EEOC in 
bringing actions against employers that require their employees to 
speak English, and instead use the money to teach English to adults 
through the Department of Education's English Literacy/Civics Education 
State Grant program.
Pages S1953-54
  Sessions Amendment No. 4231, to establish a deficit-neutral reserve 
fund for border security, immigration enforcement, and criminal alien 
removal programs.
Pages S1955-59
  Cornyn Amendment No. 4242, to protect the family budget by providing 
for a budget point of order against legislation that increases income 
taxes on taxpayers, including hard-working middle-income families, 
entrepreneurs, and college students.
Pages S1961-62
  Conrad (for Pryor) Amendment No. 4181, to add a deficit-neutral 
reserve fund for Science Parks.
Pages S1962-66
  Allard Amendment No. 4246, to raise taxes by an unprecedented $1.4 
trillion for the purpose of fully funding 111 new or expanded federal 
spending programs.
Pages S1966-72
  Menendez Amendment No. 4259, to establish a reserve fund for 
immigration reform and enforcement.
Pages S1976-80
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the resolution at approximately 10:15 a.m., on 
Thursday, March 13, 2008, following the moment of silence, and that all 
statutory time be yielded back except for 30 minutes to be equally 
divided and controlled between the Chair and Ranking Member of the 
Committee on Budget for their use when Senate resumes consideration of 
the resolution.
Pages S1981, S2029


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page D278, March 12, 2008, the following language appears: A 
unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the resolution at approximately 10:15 a.m., on 
Thursday, March 13, 2008, following the moment of silence, and 
that all statutory time be yielded back except for 30 minutes to 
be equally divided and controlled between the Chair and Ranking 
Member of the Committee on Budget for their use when Senate 
resumes consideration of the resolution. Page S2029
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: A unanimous-
consent agreement was reached providing for further consideration 
of the resolution at approximately 10:15 a.m., on Thursday, March 
13, 2008, following the moment of silence, and that all statutory 
time be yielded back except for 30 minutes to be equally divided 
and controlled between the Chair and Ranking Member of the 
Committee on Budget for their use when Senate resumes 
consideration of the resolution. Pages S1981, S2029


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

Moment of Silence--Agreement: A unanimous-consent agreement was reached 
providing that at approximately 10:15 a.m., on Thursday, March 13, 
2008, there be a moment of silence to honor the 5 years of service and 
sacrifice of our troops and their families for the war in Iraq and also 
to remember those who are serving our nation in Afghanistan and 
throughout the world.
  Page S2029
Messages from the House:
  Page S1998
Measures Referred:
  Page S1998
Enrolled Bills Presented:
  Page S1998
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages S1999-S2000
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:
  Pages S2000-09
Additional Statements:
  Pages S1996-98
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S2009-28
Notices of Hearings/Meetings:
  Page S2028
Authorities for Committees to Meet:
  Pages S2028-29
Privileges of the Floor:
  Page S2029
Adjournment: Senate convened at 9:30 a.m. and adjourned at 9:00 p.m., 
until 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, March 13, 2008. (For Senate's program, 
see the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S2029.)