[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16480]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ORDER OF BUSINESS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this has been an unusual day. Earlier today, 
the majority wanted to vote on the Thompson amendment. We were led to 
believe, not wrongly, that the minority did not want a vote on that 
today. So we decided we would not vote on that today. We learned, later 
in the day, that Senator Thompson wanted a vote on his amendment today. 
By then, people had gone home for September 11 occurrences.
  So now we are in a position where Senator Thompson thought there 
would be nothing happening on his bill today, and he left to do other 
things.
  We have learned that the distinguished Senator from South Carolina, 
Mr. Hollings, now wishes to offer a second-degree amendment to the 
Thompson amendment. I have not been able to speak to Senator Thompson. 
I have spoken, on a couple of occasions, to the Senator from South 
Carolina.
  It would be my suggestion, therefore, that the Senator from South 
Carolina speak on his amendment, and that on Thursday, when we come 
back on this homeland security bill again, the Senator from South 
Carolina be recognized to offer his amendment.
  We would be taking no advantage of the minority because, as everyone 
knows, the majority leader has the right of first recognition. And we 
have indicated to the Senator from South Carolina that he would be in 
order to offer that amendment, unless we can work something out with 
Senator Thompson that it need not be offered.

                          ____________________