[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7900-7901]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




FLOOD INSURANCE REFORM AND MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2007--MOTION TO PROCEED

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2284, which the 
clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to S. 2284, a bill to amend the National 
     Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore the financial 
     solvency of the flood insurance fund, and for other purposes.

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, my colleague from Louisiana would like to 
enter into a discussion. Before we make any additional motions, I yield 
the floor to my colleague.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I thank the chairman and ranking member 
for their cooperation and help on this bill. As they know, this issue 
and this bill is an enormous concern for all of us in coastal regions. 
In particular, my colleague from Louisiana and myself and the two 
distinguished Senators from Mississippi have been very focused on this 
bill and on several amendments, also, that we believe are absolutely 
critical to improve it as we reauthorize this necessary program.
  As we have told the chairman and the ranking member in discussions 
over many weeks, we have no intention to obstruct and filibuster and 
stand in the way of reauthorizing this important program. But we do 
have to have the ability to have a fair debate and a set of votes on 
crucial issues, amendments that are important to us.
  In that spirit, in that vein, we took all of our amendment ideas and 
narrowed them down dramatically to a

[[Page 7901]]

universe of about six or seven amendments between the four Senators 
from Louisiana and Mississippi. We have had productive discussions in 
that regard with the chairman and the ranking member. I wanted to 
engage in this discussion to receive assurances that the chairman and 
ranking member will do everything possible to ensure that our narrowed-
down universe of crucial amendments gets quick, efficient but fair 
consideration on the Senate floor and a vote.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, first, let me thank my colleague from 
Louisiana and the Senators from Mississippi for their willingness to 
sit down and try to consolidate this so we will have a finite number of 
amendments that we can work through that are their particular concern. 
I pledge to him, as I have to his colleagues from the gulf States area 
as well as other coastal State Senators representing coastal areas of 
the country, I am determined, as I know Senator Shelby is, to move 
through this bill, to give each of these amendments fair consideration, 
to make sure there is a full opportunity to debate them. There will be 
a full hearing on them. I cannot pick outcomes, but certainly the right 
to offer amendments, to be heard and debate them and vote on them, I am 
determined to make sure that happens. From my conversations with 
Senator Reid, the majority leader, I can tell my colleague that he is 
determined as well to make sure there is that opportunity, that there 
is going to be a full discussion and debate. My only advice is the 
sooner we get going, the greater likelihood we get through that 
process. He has my assurance that I will do everything to make sure 
that opportunity will be there.
  Mr. VITTER. On behalf of my colleague from Louisiana, my two 
colleagues from Mississippi, and myself, I thank the Senator and the 
ranking member again for their cooperation. We look forward to that 
very efficient but full and fair debate and vote on those amendments 
that are important to us. I will very quickly confer with the rest of 
them and make sure they do not have any outstanding issues, so we can 
move forward and get going.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. Before I 
make a motion, I will wait for the Senator to let me know.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DODD. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Casey). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, it has been a half an hour since we had the 
colloquy about moving forward on the flood insurance bill. My 
commitment to the Senators from Louisiana and Mississippi was that we 
would move these amendments along. In fairness, I have to say, if it 
takes a half an hour to obtain approval on a unanimous consent to 
vitiate or at least to deem the 30 hours that remain on the motion to 
proceed to expire so we can move to the body of the bill and 
amendments--I know the majority leader wants to consider this bill. He 
would like to do it in the normal, routine way. Amendments are offered, 
debated, voted on, and move on to the next amendment. But here it is, a 
half an hour since we entered into that colloquy. We are here on 
Wednesday to complete the bill. There are about 20 amendments I am 
aware of--6 or 7 on the Republican side and easily that number on the 
Democratic side--that Members want to be considered.
  If this bill is not done, the program expires. I can't, obviously, 
predict the schedule. The majority leader has that responsibility. But 
knowing what work we have to do in the remaining weeks, it may be 
difficult to get time. The majority leader has been extremely generous 
in providing this time so we could reconstitute the flood insurance 
program. In the absence of doing so, the flood insurance program will 
expire, as we move into hurricane season. This is the opportunity to 
deal with it. I have made a good-faith commitment that I will allow for 
these amendments to come up, be debated, and voted on up or down. But 
it will be hard to fulfill that obligation if I can't even move to have 
the time on the motion to proceed considered expired.
  For those listening, I appreciate if we could get an answer quickly 
and then bring up the amendments. Then let's move on them.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DODD. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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