[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 153 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1171-D1174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                       Thursday, September 25, 2008

[[Page D1171]]

                              Daily Digest

                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S9439-S9557
Measures Introduced: Twenty-eight bills and one resolution were 
introduced, as follows: S. 3576-
3603, and S. Res. 685.
  Pages S9492-93
Measures Reported:
  H.R. 2963, to transfer certain land in Riverside County, California, 
and San Diego County, California, from the Bureau of Land Management to 
the United States to be held in trust for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno 
Mission Indians, with amendments. (S. Rept. No. 110-503)
  H.R. 5680, to amend certain laws relating to Native Americans, with 
amendments. (S. Rept. No. 110-504)
  S. 160, to provide for compensation to the Lower Brule and Crow Creek 
Sioux Tribes of South Dakota for damage to tribal land caused by Pick-
Sloan projects along the Missouri River. (S. Rept. No. 110-505)
  S. 2489, to enhance and provide to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and 
Angostura Irrigation Project certain benefits of the Pick-Sloan 
Missouri River basin program. (S. Rept. No. 110-506)
  Report to accompany S. 2041, to amend the False Claims Act. (S. Rept. 
No. 110-507)
  S. 3160, to reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College 
Program Act. (S. Rept. No. 110-508)
  H.R. 1943, to provide for an effective HIV AIDS program in Federal 
prisons.
  H.R. 2631, to strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland 
Security to develop nuclear forensics capabilities to permit 
attribution of the source of nuclear material, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute.
  H.R. 3971, to encourage States to report to the Attorney General 
certain information regarding the deaths of individuals in the custody 
of law enforcement agencies, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute.
  S. Res. 659, designating September 27, 2008, as Alcohol and Drug 
Addiction Recovery Day.
  S. 3477, to amend title 44, United States Code, to authorize grants 
for Presidential Centers of Historical Excellence, with amendments.
  S. 3501, to ensure that Congress is notified when the Department of 
Justice determines that the Executive Branch is not bound by a statute.
                                                         Pages S9491-92
Measures Passed:
  United States Supreme Court Police: Senate passed S. 3296, to extend 
the authority of the United States Supreme Court Police to protect 
court officials off the Supreme Court Grounds and change the title of 
the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice, after agreeing to 
the following amendment proposed thereto:
  Page S9459
  Reid (for Kyl) Amendment No. 5645, to provide for a limitation on 
acceptance of honorary memberships by justices and judges.
Page S9459
  Michelle's Law: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2851, to amend the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health 
Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that 
dependent students who take a medically necessary leave of absence do 
not lose health insurance coverage, and the bill was then passed, 
clearing the measure for the President.
  Page S9459
  Social Security Act: Committee on Finance was discharged from further 
consideration of S. 3560, to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act 
to provide additional funds for the qualifying individual (QI) program, 
and the bill was then passed.
  Pages S9459-61
  Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act: Committee on the Judiciary was 
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5057, to reauthorize the 
Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, and the bill was then passed, 
after agreeing to the following amendment proposed thereto: 
                                                             Page S9461
  Reid (for Biden) Amendment No. 5646, in the nature of a substitute. 
                                                             Page S9461
  Methamphetamine Production Prevention Act: Senate passed S. 1276, to 
facilitate the creation of

[[Page D1172]]

methamphetamine precursor electronic logbook systems, after agreeing to 
the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
  Pages S9461-63
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act: 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 6063, to authorize the programs of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the bill was then 
passed, after agreeing to the following amendment proposed thereto: 
                                                         Pages S9471-73
  Nelson (FL)/Vitter Amendment No. 5648, in the nature of a substitute.
                                                             Page S9471
  Great Lakes Legacy Reauthorization Act: Senate passed H.R. 6460, to 
amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for the 
remediation of sediment contamination in areas of concern, after 
agreeing to the following amendment proposed thereto:
  Pages S9473-74
  Nelson (FL) (for Levin/Voinovich) Amendment No. 5649, to limit the 
duration of reauthorization.
Pages S9373-74
  Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination 
Reauthorization Act: Committee on Indian Affairs was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 2786, to reauthorize the programs for 
housing assistance for Native Americans, and the bill was then passed, 
after agreeing to the following amendment proposed thereto: 
                                                             Page S9474
  Nelson (FL) (for Dorgan) Amendment No. 5647, in the nature of a 
substitute.
Page S9474
  Combating Child Exploitation Act: Senate passed S. 1738, to require 
the Department of Justice to develop and implement a National Strategy 
Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, to improve the Internet 
Crimes Against Children Task Force, to increase resources for regional 
computer forensic labs, and to make other improvements to increase the 
ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute child 
predators, after withdrawing the committee amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, and agreeing to the following amendments proposed thereto: 
                                                         Pages S9544-48
  Durbin (for Biden) Amendment No. 5650, in the nature of a substitute.
                                                         Pages S9544-48
  Durbin (for Biden) Amendment No. 5651, to amend the title. 
                                                             Page S9548
  Runaway and Homeless Youth Protection Act: Senate passed S. 2982, to 
amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to authorize appropriations, 
after agreeing to the committee amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, and the following amendment proposed thereto: 
                                                         Pages S9548-51
  Durbin (for Leahy) Amendment No. 5652, in the nature of a substitute.
                                                         Pages S9548-51
  Extend Waiver Authority: Senate passed H.R. 6890, to extend the 
waiver authority for the Secretary of Education under section 105 of 
subtitle A of title IV of division B of Public Law 109-148, relating to 
elementary and secondary education hurricane recovery relief, clearing 
the measure for the President.
  Page S9551
  Defense Production Act Extension and Reauthorization: Senate passed 
H.R. 6894, to extend and reauthorize the Defense Production Act of 
1950, clearing the measure for the President.
  Pages S9551-52
  Need-Based Educational Aid Act: Committee on the Judiciary was 
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1777, to amend the 
Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 to make permanent the favorable 
treatment of need-based educational aid under the antitrust laws, and 
the bill was then passed, after agreeing to the following amendment 
proposed thereto:
  Page S9552
  Durbin (for Leahy/Hatch) Amendment No. 5653, to amend the Improving 
America's Schools Act of 1994 to extend the favorable treatment of 
need-based educational aid under the antitrust laws.
Page S9552
  White Mountain Apache Tribe Rural Water System Loan Authorization 
Act: Senate passed S. 3128, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
provide a loan to the White Mountain Apache Tribe for use in planning, 
engineering, and designing a certain water system project, after 
agreeing to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
                                                         Pages S9552-53
  Community Food Projects: Senate passed S. 3597, to provide that funds 
allocated for community food projects for fiscal year 2008 shall remain 
available until September 30, 2009.
  Page S9553
  Submersible Vessels and Semi-Submersible Vessels: Senate passed S. 
3598, to amend titles 46 and 18, United States Code, with respect to 
the operation of submersible vessels and semi-submersible vessels 
without nationality.
  Pages S9553-54
Appointments:
Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade: The 
Presiding Officer announced that the Minority Leader, pursuant to 
Public Law 110-183, appointed the following individual as a member of 
the Commission on the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade: Mark 
Rodgers, of Virginia.
  Page S9557

[[Page D1173]]

Federal Protective Service Guard Contracting Reform Act--Agreement: A 
unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that the Secretary of 
the Senate be authorized to request the return of the papers on H.R. 
3068, to prohibit the award of contracts to provide guard services 
under the contract security guard program of the Federal Protective 
Service to a business concern that is owned, controlled, or operated by 
an individual who has been convicted of a felony, from the House of 
Representatives.
  Page S9474
 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act--Agreement: A 
unanimous consent agreement was reached providing that with respect to 
the message from the House of Representatives to accompany H.R. 2638, 
making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, that if the motion to invoke 
cloture is filed on the motion to concur in the House amendment with a 
technical amendment on Friday, September 26, 2008, it be as though the 
cloture motion was filed on Thursday, September 25, 2008; provided 
further, that the mandatory cloture vote under Rule XXII be waived and 
the vote occur on Saturday, September 27, 2008, at a time to be 
determined.
  Page S9557
Treaties Approved: The following treaties having passed through their 
various parliamentary stages, up to and including the presentation of 
the resolution of ratification, upon division, two-thirds of the 
Senators present having voted in the affirmative, the resolutions of 
ratification were agreed to:
  Land-Based Sources Protocol to Cartagena Convention (Treaty Doc. 110-
1) with 2 declarations;
  International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism 
(Treaty Doc. 110-4) with 1 reservation, 4 understandings, and 1 
declaration;
  Amendment to Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material 
(Treaty Doc. 110-6) with 1 reservation, 3 understandings, and 1 
declaration;
  Protocols of 2005 to the Convention concerning Safety of Maritime 
Navigation and to the Protocol concerning Safety of Fixed Platforms on 
the Continental Shelf (Treaty Doc. 110-8) with reservations, 
understandings, and declarations;
  The Hague Convention (Treaty Doc. 106-1(A)) with 4 understandings and 
1 declaration;
  Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on Accession of 
Albania and Croatia (Treaty Doc. 110-20) with 1 declaration and 1 
condition for each Protocol;
  Amendments to Constitution and Convention of International 
Telecommunication Union (ITU) (Geneva 1992) (Treaty Doc. 108-5) with 
declarations and reservations;
  2002 Amendments to the ITU Constitution and Convention (Treaty Doc. 
109-11) with declarations and reservations; and
  Amendments to the Constitution and Convention of the International 
Telecommunication Union (Geneva, 1992) (Treaty Doc. 110-16) with 
declarations and reservations.
Pages S9554-57
Nominations Discharged: The following nominations were discharged from 
further committee consideration and placed on the Executive Calendar:
  Gracia M. Hillman, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the 
Election Assistance Commission for a term expiring December 12, 2009, 
which was sent to the Senate on June 13, 2007, from the Senate 
Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Donetta Davidson, of Colorado, to be a Member of the Election 
Assistance Commission for a term expiring December 12, 2011, which was 
sent to the Senate on May 8, 2008, from the Senate Committee on Rules 
and Administration.
  Rosemary E. Rodriguez, of Colorado, to be a Member of the Election 
Assistance Commission for a term expiring December 12, 2011, which was 
sent to the Senate on May 8, 2008, from the Senate Committee on Rules 
and Administration.
  Gineen Bresso Beach, of New York, to be a Member of the Election 
Assistance Commission for the remainder of the term expiring December 
12, 2009, which was sent to the Senate on July 31, 2008, from the 
Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mark Everett Keenum, of Mississippi, to be a Member of the Farm 
Credit Administration Board, Farm Credit Administration for a term 
expiring May 21, 2014, which was sent to the Senate on June 26, 2008, 
from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. 
                                                             Page S9557
Messages From the House:
  Pages S9487-88
Measures Referred:
  Page S9488
Enrolled Bills Presented:
  Page S9488
Executive Communications:
  Pages S9488-91
Executive Reports of Committees:
  Page S9492
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages S9493-94
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:
  Pages S9494-S9519
Additional Statements:
  Pages S9483-87
Amendments Submitted:
  Pages S9519-43
Authorities for Committees to Meet:
  Pages S9543-44
Privileges of the Floor:
  Page S9544
Recess: Senate convened at 9:30 a.m. and recessed at 9:22 p.m., until 
9:30 a.m. on Friday, September 26, 2008. (For Senate's program, see the 
remarks of

[[Page D1174]]

the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page S9557.)