[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2180-2181]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today we will proceed shortly to executive 
session for the consideration of the nomination of Michael Chertoff to 
be Secretary of Homeland Security.
  We have a consent agreement that will govern the debate on the 
nomination. During today's session, there will be up to 6 hours of 
debate on Michael Chertoff, and Senator Collins is here to manage time 
on behalf of the majority.
  The agreement provides for additional debate between the hours of 
2:15 and 4 o'clock tomorrow, with the vote on confirmation of the 
nomination at 4 o'clock Tuesday.
  I remind all Senators that there will be no rollcall votes during 
today's session. We have a number of issues to address this week. 
Chairman Enzi and the HELP Committee have reported several bills that 
we are working on clearing for floor action.
  In addition, the House is sending us several pieces of legislation, 
including the broadcast decency bill. We are talking to the appropriate 
committees of jurisdiction regarding the status of that bill. The 
funding resolution for our committees is also scheduled for this week. 
Therefore, following the Chertoff nomination, there are a number of 
legislative items that we are hoping to clear. We will keep all Members 
apprised of the voting schedule as we proceed.
  I want to remind all of my colleagues that on Friday of this week we 
will have a traditional reading of President Washington's Farewell 
Address. Senator Richard Burr is scheduled to deliver that address. I 
thank him in advance for his contribution to this longstanding Senate 
tradition.
  I look forward to another good week, and I thank my colleagues for 
their attention.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, will the leader yield for a question?
  Mr. FRIST. I would be happy to yield.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I have received several inquiries about 
this. I have spoken to the leader about the status of the Federal 
transportation bill. We are now in our third year trying to come to an 
agreement on that bill. I ask the leader if there is any indication on 
his side of progress.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in response through the Chair, the 
transportation bill is a major priority for the leadership on this side 
of the aisle and the leadership on the other side of the aisle. We have 
been in numerous discussions with the chairmen and ranking members for 
the responsible committees. There are five different committees 
involved. It remains a major priority. It is also, I might add, a major 
priority for the House of Representatives, which is committed to having 
appropriate committee action. We encourage the committees to act as 
soon as they practically can. Once that bill is ready, we will make 
sure it comes to the floor of the Senate. It is a bill which, as we all 
know, has strong bipartisan support.
  We have passed a major transportation bill on the floor of this 
Senate, and it is time to look at what changes there might be, look to 
the budgetary objectives, and as soon as possible bring that bill to 
the floor.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if the Senator will further yield for a 
question through the Chair, I am sure the Senator is mindful that, in 
fact, a year ago in February we passed this bill, and we are very proud 
of our work product. I am sure it could have been better. We produced a 
very good product on a bipartisan basis, and then we failed to reach 
agreement with the White House and our colleagues in the House of 
Representatives.
  My concern--which I am sure the leader shares--is that if we don't 
move in a similar timely fashion this year, we could enact it too late 
and lose another construction season which would be harmful to our 
economy and to the number of very good paying jobs that could be 
created across America with this bill.
  I encourage my friend from Tennessee, and in the form of a question, 
I ask him if my hope is well placed that we can move quickly on this 
measure.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the Senator's hope is well placed. I think 
what our colleagues just heard is a bipartisan leadership commitment to 
focus on this bill, to build on the past but recognizing that passing a 
bill in the Senate is not enough. We need to make sure we work with the 
House of Representatives and with the White House but taking the first 
step of getting it through the Senate.
  The commitment is there. We will continue to encourage our chairmen 
and ranking members.
  I yield the floor.

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