[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14247-14248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1215

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have been negotiating all day with 
Senator Baucus, the ranking member of the Finance Committee, in the 
hopes of getting the Burma bill cleared, but, regretfully, that has not 
occurred yet.
  Time is passing. I was at a meeting with the President just an hour 
ago. He brought up the issue. Both the Republican and Democratic 
leaders of the Senate are in favor of this bill. Both the chairman and 
the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee are in favor of 
this bill. My good friend, the assistant Democratic leader, is in favor 
of this bill. It is time to pass it.
  We have been protecting, under a rule XIV procedure, the possibility 
of going to this bill tomorrow. But I must say, I think it would be a 
lot better to go to it tonight. So I have notified the Senator from 
Nevada that I am going to make the following unanimous consent request, 
and I will do that at this point.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that tomorrow, at a time to be 
determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic 
leader, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1215, 
the Burma sanctions bill, under the following conditions: 1 hour of 
debate equally divided in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding 
back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the measure, 
with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.

[[Page 14248]]


  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have been told by Senator Baucus and 
Senator Grassley that they object to this. I would say this, however; 
that people in Burma, toward whom this is directed, should not rest 
easy. We are going to figure out a way to have this matter brought 
before the Senate.
  I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, let me say to my good friend from 
Nevada, I have not heard from Senator Grassley. I keep hearing from the 
other side that Senator Grassley objects, but I have not heard that, 
nor have floor staff been informed that he does. But either way, it is 
time to move forward, and it needs to be done this week, and should be 
done with a tight time agreement and a rollcall vote.

                          ____________________