[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3248-S3249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            UNANIMOUS-CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1315 AND H.R. 2831

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, here we are again not being able to go to 
the bill. I would hope we could go to this bill tomorrow and debate it 
all day. As everyone, I think, knows, we would like to have a vote 
tomorrow night at 6 o'clock on the reversal of the Ledbetter decision.
  So I have conferred with the manager of the bill and told him I was 
going to ask consent that in the morning we have the opportunity to go 
to the bill and legislate--have people offer amendments on it 
tomorrow--that we would go at 6 o'clock tomorrow to the cloture vote--
the motion has been filed--on the Ledbetter decision. I ask unanimous 
consent that be the case.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, would my friend like me to be a little more 
specific?
  Mr. BURR. I would love for that.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Wednesday, 
April 23, following a period of morning business, the motion to proceed 
to S. 1315 be agreed to; and that the vote on the motion to invoke 
cloture on H.R. 2831, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, occur at 6 
p.m., with the time from 5 to 6 p.m. equally divided and controlled 
prior to the vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. BURR. Reserving the right to object, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. BURR. We had a unanimous vote earlier today to proceed to the 
bill. I believe it has been a productive day. I believe Members have 
learned a lot in the debate, and I think it is important to get the 
history of the issue on the record for all Members.
  Having said that, I am prepared to begin consideration of the bill 
and for the amendment process to begin as well. Under the rules, my 
understanding is the cloture vote on Ledbetter would proceed an hour 
after we convene.
  Now, I am not in a position to delay the Ledbetter bill, but I am in 
a position to agree to go immediately in the morning to consideration 
of S. 1315. The way the majority leader has worded his unanimous 
consent request would push off the rules of the Senate, requiring that 
the Ledbetter vote be in the morning. So, therefore, I have to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I think my friend may have misunderstood my 
consent request. I think it is appropriate--we would not have to have 
morning business in the morning. We could go directly to the bill in 
the morning. We could convene at 9:30, 10 o'clock--whatever would be 
convenient to the minority--and we would legislate on that all day 
tomorrow, offer amendments. My friend wants to, I am sure, offer an 
amendment to change the provision in the bill as it relates to 
Filipinos. That would be fine.
  At 6 o'clock we would have a vote on a motion that has already been 
filed to invoke cloture on Ledbetter. That would take 20 minutes. That 
is all it would take. And then, if cloture, of course, is invoked, then 
we would be on Ledbetter. If it were not invoked, then we would be 
right back on S. 1315.
  So again, I say to my friend, I think it is a good idea we go to the 
legislation in the morning. I wanted to do it Thursday night. We did 
not do it Thursday night. We did not do it Friday. We did not do it 
Monday. We have not done it today. So I would hope on Wednesday morning 
we could do that. That was my consent: We go to that, we take a brief 
pause at 6 o'clock tomorrow evening to vote on cloture on

[[Page S3249]]

Ledbetter. It would take, as I said, no longer than 15 minutes, maybe 
20 minutes if somebody is late for the vote, but that is how long it 
would take.
  So that seems appropriate.
  Mr. BURR. May I ask a question of the majority leader?
  Mr. REID. Of course.
  Mr. BURR. My understanding in the unanimous consent request is that 
as to the rule that would require us to vote on cloture on the 
Ledbetter issue 1 hour after we started business tomorrow, under the 
unanimous consent request, the majority leader has asked that to be 
postponed until 6:30 tomorrow night. Am I correct?
  Mr. REID. Yes. What I did ask is that the vote on Ledbetter would be 
at 6 o'clock tomorrow.
  Mr. BURR. Six o'clock. I apologize.
  Mr. REID. The reason being--and it is certainly no secret to anyone--
we have a number of Senators who want to vote on that matter, and we 
would ask that be the schedule.
  I would say no one would be inconvenienced with that. If my friends 
do not accept the consent request I offer, then the only alternative we 
have is to waste another day because we are postcloture with 30 hours. 
That time expires at 6 o'clock tomorrow. That is what time it expires. 
That is why that arbitrary 6 o'clock time was chosen.
  As I repeat, Thursday we could have been on the bill. Friday we could 
have been on the bill. Monday we could have been on the bill. Tuesday 
we could have been on the bill. As I have indicated--and I am certain 
my friend has heard some of the statements that have been made today 
about our not being able to legislate--we have had to invoke cloture so 
many different times it is difficult to comprehend, but it is 
approaching 70 times. It would seem to me it would not be a fruitful 
use of the time not to be in session until 5 o'clock tomorrow. Because 
under the rules--my friend is right--cloture happens automatically an 
hour after we come into session. So it is going to happen at 6 o'clock 
no matter what.
  It would seem to me, as to this important piece of legislation, we 
should be legislating on it from 9:30, 10 o'clock in the morning--
whatever time would be convenient to come in. This request I am making 
is certainly not an unusual request. We almost always, with rare 
exception, have cloture votes by consent because, as I have indicated, 
the rules call for cloture votes taking place 1 hour after we come into 
session.
  Today, we set the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 1315--
that was by consent. We, with rare exception, do it by consent. It is 
not as if we are here suddenly trying to invent the wheel.
  Simply stated again, Mr. President, I am saying, at 6 o'clock 
tomorrow, we are going to have a vote on the Ledbetter reversal. 
Preceding that, we can have a very productive day and work on this 
veterans bill. Or we can follow the rules and be out of session all day 
tomorrow and come in at 5 o'clock and have an hour of debate prior to 
the cloture vote. So it is established we are going to have a cloture 
vote at 6 o'clock. The question is, should we have a productive day? We 
want to have a productive day. We want to legislate over here on this 
important issue.
  I agree with my friend, the distinguished Senator from North 
Carolina, we have had a good debate today. I was extremely impressed 
with Senator Inouye's statement. For someone who is a Medal of Honor 
winner, I think it means a lot coming from him that we all have a 
misconception of a lot of things that went on in World War II, not the 
least of which is the Bataan Death March.
  In all the movies and everything you see about the Bataan Death 
March, you see a bunch of White men being driven by the Japanese, many 
of them to their deaths. That death march had 15,000 Americans and 
60,000 Filipinos. That was very educational for me. We have had a 
number of good statements here today. So I would renew my consent 
request.

  Mr. BURR. Continuing my reservation, Mr. President, as I understand 
the leader, it is not the minority and it is certainly not me who is 
suggesting that tomorrow be unproductive; it is the majority leader's 
desire to change the Senate rules and to move a vote on cloture on the 
Ledbetter issue from 1 hour after we come into session to 6 o'clock 
tomorrow night to accommodate people who are not in Washington, 
supposedly when the Senate is in session.
  I think the Senator makes some great observations about the debate 
today. I agree with him about the heroism of Senator Inouye and others, 
Senator Stevens, who performed bravely in the Pacific in World War II, 
and the debate we have had today. If we have learned anything, it is 
that we have brave Senators, but we also have the history to look at as 
to whether this benefit was intended for these individuals. That is why 
the debate was so important that Senator Reid and I discussed earlier 
yesterday and we continue now. But with the insistence that we change 
the Senate rules and delay the vote on Ledbetter, I would have to be 
opposed to the unanimous consent request.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate the comments of my 
friend from North Carolina. The record is very clear. This is a 
continuation of my friends on the Republican side wanting to accomplish 
nothing rather than something. I understand that. I accept that. I have 
gotten used to it.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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