Wednesday, March 29, 2006

6:30 Debate on Immigration Bill Begins The Senate has begun consideration of the Immigration bill.  The time until 8pm tonight will be divided equally for debate only.  When the Senate resumes consideration of the bill on Thursday, debate will continue.  The Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Leahy of the Judiciary Committee, which, on Monday, reported to the floor the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, both spoke on the floor in favor of the bill.  To read Senator Leahy's complete, prepared remarks, please see: http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200603/032906.html. 6:37:04 PM

4:55 Lobbying Reform Bill Passes By a vote of 90-8, the Senate passed the Lobbying Reform Bill. 4:57:32 PM

4:25 Senate Voting on Final Passage of Lobbying Reform Bill The Senate is now voting on final passage of the Lobbying Reform Bill. 4:26:44 PM

4:05 Ensign Amendment Tabled By a vote of 57-41, the motion to table the Ensign amendment was agreed to. A vote on final passage of this legislation is expected shortly.  4:06:48 PM

3:50 Senate Voting on Motion to Table Ensign Amendment The Senate is now conducting a roll call vote on a motion to table the amendment offered by Senator Ensign. Senator Ensign's amendment would require Senators to publicly disclose earmarks to federal entities on the Internet at least 24 hours before the Senate considers the legislation containing the earmark and to identify the sponsor of the earmark and explain its purpose. 3:50:53 PM

3:10 Senator Ensign Introduces Amendment Senator John Ensign has come to the Floor to discuss an amendment he has offered to the lobbying reform bill relating to the treatment of out of scope matters in conference reports.   3:11:14 PM

2:50 Work on Lobbying Bill Continues Debate on the lobbying reform bill continues. Senators Dodd, Lott, Collins and Lieberman have all come to the Floor this afternoon to discuss this legislation. A vote on final passage of this bill is likely to occur later today. Currently, Senator Lieberman is outlining many of the major provisions contained within the bill, including the provision banning all gifts and meals from registered lobbyists.  2:55:38 PM

12:12 Feingold Amendment Tabled By a vote of 68-30, the Senate voted to table Senator Feingold's amendment. 12:13:07 PM

11:50 Senate Now Voting to Table Feingold Amendment The Senate is now voting on a motion to table the Feingold amendment. Senator Feingold's amendment would clarify that the Senate gifts rule applies to registered lobbyists and all employees. More specifically, under this amendment, employees of registered lobbyists would also be prohibited from giving gifts such as meals and tickets to events to Members and staff.  Opponents of this amendment have argued that it is far too broad, stating that all employees from the CEO to minimum wage workers would be subject to the increased fines (of up to $100,000) for violations of the Act.  11:57:11 AM

11:00 Senate Takes Up Lobbying Bill The Senate has now begun debate on the Lobbying Reform bill, S.2349.  The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee are in the process of calling up a variety of amendments to this bill being offered by Members on both sides of the aisle. The first roll call vote on the lobbying reform bill is expected around 11:45 on an amendment offered by Senator Feingold. 11:00:43 AM

10:10 Senator Kennedy on Immigration Reform Senator Kennedy has come to the Floor to discuss immigration reform. Senator Kennedy said that for decades Congress has done very little to address the issue of illegal immigration and undocumented workers. For years, we tolerated undocumented immigrants because employers had access to cheap labor, Senator Kennedy stated. Today illegal immigrants live in every state in the Union. During his remarks, Senator Kennedy discussed many of the problems associated with illegal immigration.  He pointed out that illegal entry has resulted in a humanitarian crisis at the border and the exploitation of illegal immigrants throughout the U.S..  He added that undocumented entry also poses national security concerns. 10:23:57 AM

9:35 Frist Offers Opening Remarks Senator Frist just started the day off with some opening remarks about the Senate Floor schedule.  The Majority Leader confirmed that the Senate will vote on several amendments relating to the lobbying reform bill today and will try and complete work on this bill before the day is over.  The Senate will then move to consideration of border control legislation. 9:38:18 AM

Senate To Reconvene at 9:30 The Senate is expected to convene at 9:30 this morning.  The Senate will be in a 60 minute period of morning business with the time equally divided between the two parties.  At 10:30, the Senate is expected to continue the debate on the lobbying reform bill, S.2349.  Roll call votes on amendments to this legislation are expected throughout the day. 9:18:11 AM