[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 25630]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS-CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 3548

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 174, H.R. 3548, 
and that the following amendments be the only first-degree amendments 
in order, except in the case where the second-degree or side-by-side 
amendment is indicated, with the majority amendment to be voted first 
in any sequence of a second-degree or side-by-side amendment; that 
general debate time on the bill be limited to 1 hour equally divided 
and controlled between the leaders or their designees; that debate time 
on any first-degree amendment be limited to 60 minutes equally divided 
and controlled in the usual form; and that debate on any second-degree 
or side-by-side amendment be limited to 30 minutes equally divided and 
controlled in the usual form:
  Reid-Baucus substitute amendment No. 2668, to be modified, and that 
any debate time on this amendment be within the parameters of time 
available on the bill; Baucus side-by-side amendment regarding home 
buyer tax credit/net operating loss/tax relief; Isakson-Dodd amendment 
regarding home buyer tax credit--Mr. President, for everybody here, I 
note that the Baucus side-by-side relates to the Isakson-Dodd amendment 
and another amendment that was given to us earlier by Senator Bunning; 
this covers both of those--McConnell amendment regarding tax relief; 
Johanns amendment regarding alternative substitute; Corker-Warner 
amendment regarding TARP; that upon disposition of the listed 
amendments, the use or yielding back of all time, the substitute 
amendment, as amended, if amended, be agreed to; the bill, as amended, 
be read the third time, and the Senate then proceed to vote on passage 
of the bill.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I 
will have to object, I am going to offer a counter unanimous-consent 
request that includes a universe of eight amendments. The majority 
leader has six.
  We would be happy to accept short time agreements. It strikes me that 
under my consent agreement we would finish about as rapidly as we would 
under the consent agreement the majority leader just propounded.
  With that, I object.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say to the senior Senator from Kentucky 
that I think the amendments we have suggested are in keeping with what 
we are trying to do. We deal with a first-time home buyer tax credit. 
We deal with the loss carryback, which people talk about being very 
important. We talk about another bipartisan amendment offered by the 
Senator from Virginia and the Senator from Tennessee, setting up a 
program where there would be trustees to oversee the ownership we have 
in various TARP properties. I think we have been so reasonable.
  I understand my friend, the Senator from Kentucky, not being able to 
agree at this time. I hope we can get this done. I do not want to have 
just a vote on cloture. I think probably on this we could do it, but I 
think it is the wrong message that we cannot work out some amendments.
  I see no reason that we have to do immigration on this bill; that is 
what E-Verify is about. I don't know how many more times we have to 
pound on ACORN. We have voted on that many times already. I think we 
are being reasonable.
  I think Senator Bunning, if he would look at the amendment we have 
suggested, which is out of the Finance Committee--and it is my 
understanding it is bipartisan--which would cover net operating losses, 
then Senator Bunning would get everything he asked for under his 
amendment. It is just where the money would come from. It is all paid 
for.

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