[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 4, 2009)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D972-D975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                            Tuesday, August 4, 2009

[[Page D972]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate passed H.R. 2997, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
      Drug Administration Appropriations Act.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S8709-S8783
Measures Introduced: Seven bills and four resolutions were introduced, 
as follows: S. 1570-1576, and S. Res. 237-240.               
  Page S8765
Measures Reported:
  S. 212, to expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones 
National Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine 
Sanctuary, with amendments. (S. Rept. No. 111-64)
  S. 380, to expand the boundaries of the Thunder Bay National Marine 
Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, with amendments. (S. Rept. No. 111-
65)
  H.R. 3293, making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health 
and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal 
year ending September 30, 2010, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. (S. Rept. No. 111-66)
  H.R. 1275, to direct the exchange of certain land in Grand, San Juan, 
and Uintah Counties, Utah. (S. Rept. No. 111-67)
  H.R. 2938, to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of 
a hydroelectric project. (S. Rept. No. 111-68)               
Page S8759
Measures Passed:
  Cesar E. Chavez Post Office: Senate passed S. 748, to redesignate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2777 Logan 
Avenue in San Diego, California, as the ``Cesar E. Chavez Post 
Office''.                                                
  Pages S8714-15
  Jack F. Kemp Post Office Building: Senate passed S. 1211, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
60 School Street, Orchard Park, New York, as the ``Jack F. Kemp Post 
Office Building''.                                       
  Pages S8714-15
  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office: Senate passed S. 1314, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
630 Northeast Killingsworth Avenue in Portland, Oregon, as the ``Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office''.                   
  Pages S8714-15
  Geraldine Ferraro Post Office Building: Senate passed H.R. 774, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
46-02 21st Street in Long Island City, New York, as the ``Geraldine 
Ferraro Post Office Building'', clearing the measure for the President.
                                                         Pages S8714-15
  John Scott Challis, Jr. Post Office: Senate passed H.R. 987, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
601 8th Street in Freedom, Pennsylvania, as the ``John Scott Challis, 
Jr. Post Office'', clearing the measure for the President. 
                                                         Pages S8714-15
  Elijah Pat Larkins Post Office Building: Senate passed H.R. 1271, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
2351 West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, Florida, as the ``Elijah 
Pat Larkins Post Office Building'', clearing the measure for the 
President.                                               
  Pages S8714-15
  Caroline O'Day Post Office Building: Senate passed H.R. 1397, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
41 Purdy Avenue in Rye, New York, as the ``Caroline O'Day Post Office 
Building'', clearing the measure for the President.      
  Pages S8714-15
  Frederic Remington Post Office Building: Senate passed H.R. 2090, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
431 State Street in Ogdensburg, New York, as the ``Frederic Remington 
Post Office Building'', clearing the measure for the President. 
                                                         Pages S8714-15
  Herbert A Littleton Postal Station: Senate passed H.R. 2162, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
123 11th Avenue South in Nampa, Idaho, as the ``Herbert A Littleton 
Postal Station'', clearing the measure for the President. 
                                                         Pages S8714-15

[[Page D973]]

  Laredo Veterans Post Office: Senate passed H.R. 2325, to designate 
the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1300 
Matamoros Street in Laredo, Texas, as the ``Laredo Veterans Post 
Office'', clearing the measure for the President.        
  Pages S8714-15
  Kile G. West Post Office Building: Senate passed H.R. 2422, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
2300 Scenic Drive in Georgetown, Texas, as the ``Kile G. West Post 
Office Building'', clearing the measure for the President. 
                                                         Pages S8714-15
  Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post Office Building: Senate passed 
H.R. 2470, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 19190 Cochran Boulevard FRNT in Port Charlotte, 
Florida, as the ``Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post Office 
Building'', clearing the measure for the President.      
  Pages S8714-15
  Agriculture, Rural Development, Food And Drug Administration 
Appropriations Act: By 80 yeas to 17 nays (Vote No. 261), Senate passed 
H.R. 2997, making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, 
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, as amended, after taking action 
on the following amendments proposed thereto: 
                                     Pages S8711-14, S8715-16, S8716-30
Adopted:
  Kohl (for Dodd) Amendment No. 2284 (to Amendment No. 1908), to 
require the Secretary of Agriculture to fund certain projects in 
communities and municipal districts in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and 
Rhode Island.                                                
Page S8722
  Johanns/Nelson (NE) Amendment No. 2241 (to Amendment No. 1908), to 
provide funding for the tuberculosis program of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service.                        
Pages S8711, S8722-23
  Kohl Modified Amendment No. 2280 (to Amendment No. 1908), of a 
perfecting nature.                             
Pages S8722-23, S8725-26
  Sanders Modified Amendment No. 2271 (to Amendment No. 1908), to 
provide funds for the school community garden pilot program, with an 
offset.                                            
Page S8711, S8722-23
  Kohl (for Cardin) Modified Amendment No. 2282 (to Amendment No. 
1908), to seek recommendations from the Commissioner of Food and Drugs 
regarding the need to establish labeling standards for personal care 
products for which organic claims are made.              
Pages S8722-23
  Kohl (for Hutchison) Modified Amendment No. 2249 (to Amendment No. 
1908), to express the sense of the Senate relating to the provision of 
disaster assistance.                                     
Pages S8722-23
  Kohl (for Sanders) Modified Amendment No. 2266 (to Amendment No. 
1908), to require the Center for Food Safety and applied Nutrition to 
use certain funds to conduct a study on obesity. 
                                                  Pages S8711, S8722-23
  Kohl (for Nelson (NE)) Amendment No. 2285 (to Amendment No. 1908), to 
express the sense of the Senate regarding the livestock indemnity 
program.                                                     
Page S8725
  Sanders Amendment No. 2276 (to Amendment No. 1908), to modify the 
amount made available for the Farm Service Agency. 
                                           Pages S8714, S8725, S8726-27
  Kohl/Brownback Amendment No. 1908, in the nature of a substitute. 
                                     Pages S8711-14, S8715-16, S8716-29
Rejected:
  By 27 yeas to 70 nays (Vote No. 257), McCain Amendment No. 1912 (to 
Amendment No. 1908), to strike a provision relating to certain 
watershed and flood prevention operations.               
Pages S8711-12
  McCain Amendment No. 2030 (to Amendment No. 1908), to prohibit 
funding for an earmark.                           
Pages S8711, S8712-13
  By 37 yeas to 60 nays (Vote 258), Coburn Amendment No. 2244 (to 
Amendment No. 1908), to support the proposal of the President to 
eliminate funding in the bill for digital conversion efforts of the 
Department of Agriculture that are duplicative of existing Federal 
efforts.                            
Pages S8711, S8716-18, S8720, S8726
  Coburn Amendment No. 2245 (to Amendment No. 1908), to strike a 
provision providing $3,000,000 for specialty cheeses in Vermont and 
Wisconsin.                                           
Pages S8711, S8726
  By 32 yeas to 65 nays (Vote No. 259), Coburn motion to commit the 
bill to the Committee on Appropriations, with instructions. 
                                                     Pages S8724, S8726
Withdrawn:
  Coburn Amendment No. 2243 (to Amendment No. 1908), to eliminate 
double-dipped stimulus funds for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service 
account.                                             
Pages S8711, S8720
  During consideration of this measure today, Senate also took the 
following action:
  Chair sustained a point of order that Kohl (for Murray/Baucus) 
Amendment No. 2225 (to Amendment No. 1908), to allow State and local 
governments to participate in the conservation reserve program, Kohl 
(for Nelson (FL)) Amendment No. 2226 (to Amendment No. 1908), to 
prohibit funds made available under this Act from being used to enforce 
a travel or conference policy that prohibits an event from being held 
in a location based on a perception that the location is a resort or 
vacation destination, Coburn Amendment No. 2246 (to Amendment No.

[[Page D974]]

2226), to provide additional transparency and accountability for 
spending on conferences and meetings of the Department of Agriculture, 
Coburn Amendment No. 2248 (to Amendment No. 1908), to prohibit no-bid 
contracts and grants, and Kohl Amendment No. 2288 (to Amendment No. 
2248), to provide requirements regarding the authority of the Secretary 
of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to enter into 
certain contracts, were not germane, and the amendments thus fell. 
                                    Pages S8711, S8716, S8718-19, S8719
  Chair sustained a point of order that the following amendment was not 
germane post-cloture, and the amendment thus fell: Brownback (for 
Barrasso) Amendment No. 2240 (to Amendment No. 1908), to require the 
Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a State-by-State analysis of the 
impacts on agricultural producers of the American Clean Energy and 
Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2452, as passed by the House of 
Representatives on June 26, 2009).                   
Pages S8711, S8723
  By 60 yeas to 37 nays (Vote No. 260), three-fifths of those Senators 
duly chosen and sworn, having voted in the affirmative, Senate agreed 
to the motion, under section 904 of the Congressional Budget act of 
1974, to waive provisions of the Act for consideration of Sanders 
Amendment No. 2276 (to Amendment No. 1908), to modify the amount made 
available for the Farm Service Agency. Subsequently, the point of order 
that the amendment would provide spending in excess of the 
subcommittee's 302(b) allocation was not sustained, and the point of 
order raised was rendered moot.                          
Pages S8726-27
  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 Kohl, Harkin, Dorgan, 
Feinstein, Durbin, Johnson, Nelson (NE), Reed, Pryor, Specter, Inouye, 
Brownback, Bennett, Cochran, Bond, McConnell, Collins, and Shelby. 
                                                             Page S8730
  Military Spouses Residency Relief Act: Senate passed S. 475, to amend 
the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to guarantee the equity of spouses 
of military personnel with regard to matters of residency.   
  Page S8778
  Recognizing Noncommissioned Officers of the United States Army: 
Committee on Armed Services was discharged from further consideration 
of H.J. Res. 44, recognizing the service, sacrifice, honor, and 
professionalism of the Noncommissioned Officers of the United States 
Army, and the resolution was then passed, clearing the measure for the 
President.                                                   
  Page S8778
  National Purple Heart Recognition Day: Senate agreed to S. Res. 239, 
supporting the goals and ideals of ``National Purple Heart Recognition 
Day''.                                                   
  Pages S8778-79
  National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day: Senate 
agreed to S. Res. 240, designating September 9, 2009, as ``National 
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day''.            
  Page S8779
Sotomayor Nomination--Agreement: Senate began consideration of the 
nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, of New York, to be an Associate Justice 
of the Supreme Court of the United States.               
  Pages S8730-55
  A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached providing for further 
consideration of the nomination at 10 a.m., on Wednesday, August 5, 
2009, with the debate time until 2 p.m. divided in one hour alternating 
blocks of time, with the Majority controlling the first hour; provided 
further, that the time from 2-3 p.m., be equally divided and controlled 
with the Majority controlling the first 30 minutes, and the Republicans 
controlling the final 30 minutes; that at 3 p.m., Senate stand in 
recess until 5 p.m., and that upon reconvening at 5 p.m., Senate resume 
the one hour alternating blocks of time with the Republicans 
controlling the first hour.                                  
Page S8777
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nominations:
  Patricia A. Butenis, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Democratic 
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and to serve concurrently and without 
additional compensation as Ambassador to the Republic of Maldives.
  Alfonso E. Lenhardt, of New York, to be Ambassador to the United 
Republic of Tanzania.
  Pamela Jo Howell Slutz, of Texas, to be Ambassador to the Republic of 
Burundi.
  Miguel Humberto Diaz, of Minnesota, to be Ambassador to the Holy See.
  Jerry P. Lanier, of North Carolina, to be Ambassador to the Republic 
of Uganda.
  James B. Smith, of New Hampshire, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of 
Saudi Arabia.
  Samuel Louis Kaplan, of Minnesota, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of 
Morocco.
  Charles Aaron Ray, of Maryland, to be Ambassador to the Republic of 
Zimbabwe.
  Gayleatha Beatrice Brown, of New Jersey, to be Ambassador to Burkina 
Faso.
  Fay Hartog-Levin, of Illinois, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of the 
Netherlands.
  Patricia Newton Moller, of Arkansas, to be Ambassador to the Republic 
of Guinea.

[[Page D975]]


  Stephen J. Rapp, of Iowa, to be Ambassador at Large for War Crimes 
Issues.                                           
Pages S8777-78, S8783
Nomination Received: Senate received the following nomination:
  Marcia K. McNutt, of California, to be Director of the United States 
Geological Survey.                                           
Page S8783
Measures Placed on the Calendar:                             
  Page S8758
Measures Read the First Time:                                
  Page S8758
Executive Communications:                                
  Pages S8758-59
Executive Reports of Committees:                         
  Pages S8759-65
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages S8765-67
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:              
  Pages S8767-74
Additional Statements:                                       
  Page S8758
Amendments Submitted:                                    
  Pages S8774-76
Authorities for Committees to Meet:                      
  Pages S8776-77
Privileges of the Floor:                                     
  Page S8777
Record Votes: Five record votes were taken today. (Total--261) 
                                    Pages S8712, S8726, S8727, S8729-30
Adjournment: Senate convened at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 9:56 p.m., 
until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 5, 2009. (For Senate's program, 
see the remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page 
S8779.)