[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19465]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I have a few housekeeping matters as we 
begin today.
  I have talked to the Democratic leader and a number of our colleagues 
about changes we have made in our current schedule. As all Members are 
aware, on July 29 we filed cloture motions on two items that were 
scheduled for consideration today. In light of Hurricane Katrina, we 
will be shifting our focus this week, and I am prepared to make those 
changes by unanimous consent.


                           Order of Procedure

  First, I ask unanimous consent that the two cloture votes scheduled 
for 5:30 this afternoon be vitiated.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection? Without objection, it 
is so ordered.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that the order 
be modified so that at 2:15 today, the Senate begin a period for 
morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes 
each, with the time until 5:30 equally divided between the two leaders 
or their designees.
  I further ask consent that at 5:30 today, the Senate proceed to a 
vote on adoption of a resolution related to Hurricane Katrina.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Senators should be aware that now the vote 
at 5:30 today will occur on the resolution expressing condolences to 
the victims of Katrina. I expect that a number of our colleagues will 
want to speak today on that resolution, and we have provided time to do 
so between 2:15 and 5:30 today.
  In addition, following that vote, at 6 p.m. this evening there will 
be an all-Senators briefing related to our Gulf States. At that 
briefing will be a number of the Cabinet Secretaries who will be 
available. That briefing will be in S-407 in the Capitol.
  As I have been stating, it is our intention to move very quickly, 
responsibly, and aggressively to Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath. 
This relief is underway. We need to make sure that we are maximally 
supportive and responsive in a timely fashion. I believe we 
demonstrated that last Thursday when we came in in an urgent session to 
approve $10.5 billion which subsequently became law and was signed by 
the President.
  Later today--again another manifestation of being able and 
appropriately responding to the changing events--we will clear a bill 
known as the Federal Judiciary Emergency Special Sessions Authority 
which will allow the affected U.S. courts to conduct business under 
these emergency conditions.
  Tomorrow, we will pay tribute to the Chief Justice of the United 
States, William Rehnquist. I will say more later today on the schedule 
as it relates to the funeral and a Senate resolution relating to Chief 
Justice Rehnquist.
  Finally, we will be turning to the Commerce, Justice and Science 
appropriations bill later this week. That appropriations measure does 
fund a number of hurricane-related activities.
  Earlier today, the Democratic leader and I, Chairman Specter, and 
Ranking Member Leahy from the Judiciary Committee outlined the schedule 
with regard to Judge Roberts' hearings and the nomination process over 
the next month. Those hearings will begin Monday, September 12, at 
noon. The committee will report out Judge Roberts no later than 
Thursday, September 22. We will begin Senate floor consideration the 
week of September 26, and we will complete action no later than Friday, 
September 30.
  I believe that is relatively complete in terms of the changes we have 
made in response to two very sad and unfortunate events: Hurricane 
Katrina, a natural disaster which is ongoing, as we all know, and the 
death of Chief Justice Rehnquist. We will remain flexible in terms of 
our scheduling in this body to address that natural catastrophe along 
the Gulf States. We will be acting in a bipartisan and bicameral way, 
as has been seen to date, in these matters in order to facilitate an 
immediate response initially to the victims and then ultimately to the 
recovery and rebuilding of those gulf regions, with the goal of greater 
prosperity than they have ever seen in the past.

                          ____________________