[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5180]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--S. 493

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 11 a.m., 
Wednesday, April 6, the Senate resume consideration of S. 493 and the 
pending amendments be set aside and Senator Reid or a designee be 
recognized to call up the following amendments:
  Baucus No. 236; Stabenow No. 277; Rockefeller No. 215; Coburn No. 
217; Coburn No. 223; Coburn No. 273; Inouye No. 286; that the pending 
Sanders amendment No. 207 be modified with the changes at the desk; 
that the Senate then proceed to a period of debate only until 4 p.m., 
with the time equally divided between the two leaders or their 
designees prior to votes in relation to the following amendments in the 
order listed below:
  Baucus No. 236; Stabenow No. 277; Rockefeller No. 215; McConnell No. 
183; Coburn No. 223; Inouye No. 286; and Coburn No. 273; that there be 
no amendments in order to the amendments prior to the votes; the 
amendments not be divisible; the motions to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table; there be 2 minutes equally divided in 
between the votes; all after the first vote be 10 minutes in duration; 
and the amendments be subject to a 60-vote threshold for adoption; that 
upon the disposition of the Coburn amendment No. 273, amendment Nos. 
184 and 217 offered by Senator Coburn be agreed to; that no amendments 
be in order to the Coburn amendments Nos. 184 and 217 prior to their 
adoption; and all of the above occurring with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I appreciate everyone's patience in regard 
to getting this consent agreement. None of these votes are easy, but 
the votes are necessary.
  I would also say, in relation to the statement made by my friend from 
Colorado, that--I am trying to figure out who is the senior Senator 
between the Presiding Officer--the junior Senator from Colorado, the 
nice statement he made: We are doing our very best to work something 
out on the CR that will fund the government to the end of this fiscal 
year. As has been reported in the press, I had a meeting with the 
Speaker tonight at 4 o'clock. We are still negotiating in good faith. 
We are not that far apart. Hopefully, we can work something out. It is 
something we should be able to do and certainly we are trying. As we 
speak, our people are working. So I want everyone to know the 
government is not going to be shut down yet. There is still air in the 
tire. We still have some miles to travel, but I hope there is enough 
air in it to get us where we need to go.

                          ____________________