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Friday, June 18, 2004 |
Senator McConnell asked unanimous consent that the following bills and resolutions be passed: HR 3378 a bill to help conserve the habitats of marine turtles, HR. 3504 a bill to provide education assistance to Indians, S.Res.379 a resolution protect and promoting fatherhood and S.Res. 383 a resolution commending the Tampa Bay Lightning for winning the Stanley Cup. The Senate has adjourned until 1:00 p.m. on Monday, June 21.
2:29:03 PM 
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Senator Harkin is speaking on the Senate floor about health care facilities and preventing illness. He said that in the U.S. we spend $1.8 trillion in health care spending, yet so many diseases are preventable. The Senator continued to say that we have more of a "sick-care" system in the U.S. rather than a health care system and that we need work on more preventative health care strategies.
1:42:38 PM
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Senator Byrd has continued to speak poetically on the Senate floor, changing topics to speak about his home state of West Virginia. He took a number of minutes to praise the work of the Senate pages and their service to the Senate and our country. Senator Byrd said that when the pages go to the grocery store this weekend that they will look at the apples and now know that golden delicious apples originated in Clay County, West Virginia. Senator Byrd frequently comes to the floor on Friday afternoons to recite poetry, speak about history or his home state.
1:29:53 PM
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Saying that men are both humbled and honored by having their approval sought from their children, Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia is speaking about fathers in honor of this Sunday being Father's Day. He is fondly remembering his hard working dad who was not his biological father and is saying that he is the greatest man he ever met. He is commenting that his dad never bought him a capbuster or cowboy suit but, rather, bought him water colors. He is talking about when his dad took him to the coal mines, where he worked, and told him that it was hard work and that he wanted his son to have a better life.
12:58:06 PM
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The Senate has agreed to Senator Reid's amendment by voice vote. Senator Reid is now thanking Senators Warner and Levin for their help in the passage of this amendment. This amendment is about concurrent payment of retired pay and veterans' disability compensation for veterans with a service-connected disability rated as 100 percent. Saying that people who are 100% disabled will begin receiving their money the second the President signs the Department of Defense Authorization bill into law, he is saying this will benefit a number of veterans.
12:28:23 PM
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Saying that it will ultimately end up costing Americans more if we delay the ground-based midcourse national missile defense system, Senator Wayne Allard is voicing his opposition to Senator Reed's amendment.
12:01:47 PM
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The Senate passed Senator Durbin's amendment by voice vote. This amendment would ensure that a Federal employee who takes leave without pay in order to perform service as a member of the National Guard would receive payment.
11:51:08 AM
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Senator Jeff Sessions is speaking about Senator Reed's amendment and is praising how far along test has gone concerning the ground-based midcourse national missile defense system. He concluded with stating that he will not be supporting the amendment.
11:12:58 AM
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Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island is speaking about his amendment concerning the ground-based midcourse national missile defense system and is saying that this system is so immature that operational tests are not able to be done on it, yet the Administration is calling to buy additional interceptors. He is stating that we should not be using limited resources to rush into buying something that is not even ready to be tested.
11:00:15 AM
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Senator Mark Dayton is talking about a bill that he is introducing, the Unshackled Seniors Act, which would allow seniors to be granted a full refund if they cancel their participation with a certain Medicare discount prescription drug program because its coverage changes.
10:52:54 AM
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Senators Warner and Lautenberg are clarifying the definition of the term "killed" in Senator Lautenberg's amendment. Senator Warner is saying that he hopes at some point Senator Lautenberg will share on the floor some of his stories from when he served in the Armed Forces.
10:45:56 AM
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Saying that his amendment is not about the showing of the caskets but is about honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, Senator Lautenberg is asking if Senator Warner will make his second degree amendment a stand alone amendment.
10:43:14 AM
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Adding to comments Senator Lautenberg had made about the Americans who were killed in the 1983 Beirut bombing, Senator John Warner is telling a story about when he accompanied President Reagan to see the number of caskets of those killed by the bombing that had returned to the United States. Saying that it was a cold and rainy day, he is remembering that the President told him they would stay and speak to every single family member who was there. He is saying that it was one of the most extraordinary days he has ever experienced. He is concluding with reading the text of an amendment he is offering as a second degree amendment to Senator Lautenberg's amendment about media coverage of the the caskets as they return to the U.S..
10:38:03 AM
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Saying that Americans deserve to know the truth, Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey is saying that his amendment would lift the shroud of secrecy associated with the coffins of those killed in Iraq returning home. His amendment would call for the Department of Defense to work out a protocol that preserves the dignity and protects the privacy of the families while at the same time allows the public to see images of the coffins being brought back to the United States.
10:25:11 AM
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The Senate reconvenes this morning at 9:30 to resume consideration of S.2400, the Department of Defense Authorization bill.
9:20:53 AM
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