Thursday, March 30, 2006

5:56 No Remaining Votes There will be no further votes this evening. The Senate will continue to debate the Border Security bill and votes are likely to occur sometime Monday afternoon. 5:56:52 PM

3:42 Frist Amendment Agreed To The Frist amendment was agreed to by a vote of 94-0. 3:42:08 PM

3:03 Upcoming Roll Call Vote There is an upcoming vote on an amendment to S.2454, the Border Security bill. The amendment, which has been offered by Senator Frist, would require the Comissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to collect statistics relating to the deaths ocurring at the border between the U.S. and Mexico. 3:04:13 PM

11:00 Senator Leahy Speaks on Immigration Bill Senator Patrick Leahy spoke on the floor about the many negotiations that went into the Judiciary Committee's Immigration bill, which he described as one of the most bipartisan bills the Senate has been able to produce lately.  He said the bill is comprehensive between the law enforcement concerns and those of the immigrants and also makes important provisions to protect Good Samaritans. Senator Leahy said the bill provides a realistic system for immigration, protects America's borders, and remains true to America's values and history. 11:12:37 AM

10:50 Senator Chambliss Outlines Concerns with Judiciary Committee Immigration Bil Senator Chambliss has expressed his opposition to the Immigration bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee saying that not enough thought and time went into the bill to produce the best policy.  He expressed his concern that the bill does not address the illegal immigrants already in this country.  He also doesn't think this bill is a guest worker bill as much as it provides a clear and new path to citizenship for aliens who are currently in the US illegally.  He is particularly troubled with the Agricultural guest worker program because he believes it is an amnesty program and will punish farmers who have been abiding by the current law.  At the appropriate time, Senator Chambliss has indicated that he plans to remedy some of these shortfalls he sees with the amendment process. 10:54:27 AM

10:00 Senate in Morning Business Until 10:30 The Senate is now in a 60 minute period of morning business. Around 10:30, the Senate is expected to resume consideration of S.2454, the Border Security bill.  Immigration reform will remain a major topic of debate throughout this week and probably through most of next week.  Currently, Senator Kerry is talking about rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast.  Specifically he is discussing the "Gulf Coast Open for Business Act of 2006". 10:05:38 AM