[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20900]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this morning the Senate will be in a period 
of morning business for an hour. Once that is closed, we will go back 
to the Homeland Security appropriations bill. There are no votes 
scheduled, although there are seven amendments pending. Perhaps we can 
dispose of some of those before lunch. We will certainly have some 
votes during the day.
  Another issue which I have mentioned on many occasions is the 9/11 
Commission recommendations conference report. That report was to be 
filed late last night. It is not available. It should be momentarily. 
We will make sure Senators have the opportunity to look at that. It is 
a large document.
  Let's talk about this week. I know there is a trip scheduled this 
weekend. I contacted Senator Boxer last night and indicated to her I 
wasn't quite certain it would be able to take place. She was 
understanding and said I would have to do what I have to do, although 
she was disappointed. Maybe the trip can still go. It is a bipartisan 
trip to Greenland, led by Senators Boxer and Isakson.
  We don't have a lot to do this week, but it could take a lot of time. 
We have 2 days. It is Thursday. We need to finish Homeland Security 
appropriations. I had a conversation last night with Senator Cornyn. We 
were waiting to get his language yesterday when we were trying to work 
something out for funding for the border. He had it written out in 
longhand. Anyway, we don't have it yet, but I am sure we will get that 
soon. Maybe we can complete that with a unanimous consent. Senator 
Voinovich indicated he wished to speak on it for a while but not long. 
So we want to accommodate him.
  So we want to finish the bill we are on, either today or tomorrow. 
The other thing we need to do is complete the conference report. I hope 
we don't have to file cloture on the Homeland Security appropriations 
bill, which I have said many times I don't want to do. It is an open 
process, where people can file amendments, and they have done that. We 
hope we don't have to file cloture also on the conference report. What 
I wish to do--and I indicated this on a number of occasions--is to be 
able to start SCHIP on Monday. It appears that is pretty well set, what 
would happen when we get to that bill. It is a bipartisan bill that 
would be brought to the floor. There are a number of Senators who have 
worked on a substitute--Senator Kyl, among others. That substitute 
would certainly be the main topic of the debate. I am confident there 
will be some other amendments offered, but that is the main issue as to 
whether the substitute would pass.
  So children's health, we need to do that next week. I hope we can 
start it on Monday. Then the only other thing we need to do is to 
complete ethics and lobbying reform. As I have indicated, I wish to 
start another appropriations bill, but that would not take a vote 
during this session, though we would move to it before we leave. We 
would only do WRDA, the conference report on WRDA. It is my 
understanding the conference is basically completed, but we would only 
move to that if Senators Boxer and Inhofe indicated they wanted us to 
do that. I understand they do. It has wide-ranging bipartisan support. 
But that wasn't in my original package and that will not hold us up. 
The only thing that will hold us up is the bill we are on now, SCHIP, 
9/11 Commission recommendations and the ethics and lobbying reform. So 
I hope we can complete those things in a timely fashion, and I hope we 
don't have to work this weekend. If we do because of cloture votes, 
then we will schedule those according to whatever the standard 
procedure is.

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