[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              CLOTURE VOTE

  Mr. FRIST. Madam President, in a very few minutes we come to a very 
important vote before this body, a vote that in many ways brings to a 
head the debate that has been on the floor the last week and a half to 
the last almost 2 weeks, a debate that focuses on the safety and 
security of the American people. This is a debate that does encompass a 
major reorganization to make our intelligence activities more 
efficient, more effective. The vote we will be taking in a few minutes 
is a product of us filing cloture at the end of last week to give focus 
to the debate.
  I stand before you as majority leader to encourage our colleagues to 
vote for cloture. That means germane amendments will be considered. The 
amendments that have been introduced, that are pending, that are 
germane, will still be considered, can still be voted upon. In fact, 
germane amendments also that are brought to the floor can still be 
voted upon.
  What it does mean is that over the next 30 hours we have a huge task 
and that task is to bring to closure and ultimately to a vote on this 
bill. It can be as long as 30 hours of debate but hopefully it will be 
much less than that. So I urge my colleagues to vote with the managers, 
with the leadership in the Senate for cloture on this very important 
bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I join the majority leader in our enthusiastic support 
for the vote we will soon cast. I hope colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle will take this important step. This is an opportunity to make a 
statement about our determination, on a bipartisan basis, to move this 
legislation forward.
  Senators have come forth with a lot of good ideas. I respect them. I 
appreciate the quality of the debate that we have had. It has been a 
very good debate. But now comes a time when I think we need to limit 
further amendments to those which are very relevant to the legislation, 
germane, and that is what this vote will do. Three commissions have 
made recommendations that are reflected in the legislative work that is 
before us today. Now is our opportunity to build upon that commission 
work, to build upon what the committee has done so diligently, and to 
work together to move this legislative vehicle along to accommodate the 
schedule we have here in the Senate, as well as the recognition that we 
still have to work with our House counterparts to resolve whatever 
outstanding differences there may be with them.
  This is an important vote. I hope, as I say, that we can speak with 
one voice with regard to completing our work and moving on to the 
second phase of our 9/11 response, which is the legislative 
reorganization. I join with the leader and express the hope we can have 
a resounding vote on cloture this morning.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I will not vote to invoke cloture on the 
National Intelligence reform bill at this time.
  This legislation reforming the intelligence agencies of our 
Government is a critical step in strengthening our national defense and 
our homeland security. If this cloture vote succeeds, it will 
prematurely cut off debate and prevent relevant amendments which could 
improve this legislation from being considered by the Senate. There are 
about 57 amendments currently pending before the Senate on this bill 
and perhaps half will be prevented from even being considered if 
cloture is invoked.
  This is far-reaching and complex legislation which reorganizes the 
basic elements of our intelligence community. We cannot afford to get 
it wrong or we will end up making us less secure. We owe it to our 
constituents and the Nation, if necessary, to stay a few days longer in 
Washington and finish the job right. Frustrating the right of Senators 
to offer relevant amendments aimed at improving this legislation is 
unwise.
  Mr. FRIST. Madam President, finally, what to expect over the course 
of the day. The cloture vote will occur here in a couple of minutes. We 
strongly encourage votes for cloture. You heard the Democratic leader 
and myself, and you have heard the managers also make the strong case 
for cloture.
  Immediately, amendments will be considered that are germane. The 
focus, hopefully, will be on amendments that have been introduced that 
are germane, so I encourage those proponents to come forward and talk 
to the managers immediately. The clock does start ticking as soon as 
this vote is completed. With that, we have a limited amount of time so 
we need aggressively to start addressing this, amendment by amendment, 
on the floor.
  I yield the floor.

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