Thursday, September 14, 2006

4:37 Roll Call Vote on Final Passage of H.R. 4954 The Senate is currently in a roll call vote on the final passage of the Port Security Bill. 4:38:07 PM

4:30 Senate Tables Schumer Amendment The Senate agrees to table the Schumer amendment to the Port Security Bill by a vote of 61 to 37.  4:32:39 PM

4:02 Roll Call Vote to Table Schumer Amendment The Senate is currently in a roll call vote on whether to table the Schumer Amendment, which is regarding the nuclear and radiological screening of cargo containers. 4:03:30 PM

3:40 Boxer Introduces Amendment #4995 Senator Barbara Boxer of California attempted to introduce an amendment that would require the Department of Homeland Security to provide each airline with one blast-resistant cargo container per passenger plane that carries suspect cargo.  This amendment is not allowed because it is not relevant to the Port Security Bill.  Senator Boxer expressed amazement that there are amendments in the Port Security Bill regarding rail security, but this amendment will not be considered.  Senator Boxer said she will bring this up again in the future, because this is a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission and should be implemented. 3:51:12 PM

3:00 Senator Durbin Speaks on Phase II of the Intelligence Report on 9/11 Intelligence Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois is speaking about the report released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week.  This report was the second part of the investigation by the Committee into what led to the war in Iraq.  Senator Durbin highlighted the conclusion of the report that said the Administration knew it was using unreliable information to form the intelligence used to go to war.  He also urged the Committee to release additional information relating to the Administration’s knowledge of this misinformation.  Senator Kit Bond from Missouri then submitted a letter from the Central Intelligence Agency’s Director, Michael Hayden, regarding the CIA’s position that this additional information should not be released. 3:33:25 PM

2:30 Senator Pat Roberts Speaks About the Reid Amendment Senator Pat Roberts, chair of the Select Intelligence Committee, came to the floor to object to amendment #5005 to the Port Security bill.  He stated that he would have liked to see much of the Select Intelligence Committee’s Iraq report declassified, however he stated that the portion that Senator Reid would like to declassify is too sensitive for the public.  He argued that it would damage intelligence sources and methods. 2:58:35 PM

2:15 Senator Reid introduces the Reid-Rockefeller-Levin Amendment to the Port Security Bill Senate minority leader Harry Reid came to the floor to introduce amendment #5005 to the Port Security bill regarding classification of portions of a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Iraq.  The report discussed Iraq’s links to terrorism.  The White House redacted, or classified portions of this report.  Senator Reid argued that this information is necessary for the Senate to have a well-informed debate about, and for the American public to understand, how the U.S. got involved in the war in Iraq.  He stated that the amendment would provide the public with information without harming national security.  Senator Rockefeller also spoke in favor of this amendment. 2:51:35 PM

12:40 Senate Debates Schumer Amendment Senator Schumer came to the floor to support his amendment #4930 to the Port Security bill that would require all shipping containers coming into the U.S. to be screened for nuclear weapons within four years.  Senator Coleman spoke against this amendment.  He argued that there needs to be a pilot program to ensure the feasibility of the Schumer amendment before implementing it.  He stated that the port security bill already contains a pilot project that will do this.  Senator Collins also spoke against this amendment.  She stated that the underlying Port Security bill strikes the right balance between security and efficiency in screening incoming containers.  She stated that it is not practical to scan every shipping container that enters the country.  1:10:52 PM

12:15 Senator Specter Speaks About the National Security Surveillance Act Senator Specter came to the Senate floor to discuss S. 2453, the National Security Surveillance Act of 2006, a bill that he introduced.  Senator Specter explained that this bill would require the President’s electronic surveillance program to be submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Corps for review.  He stated that this bill would not authorize the President’s surveillance program; rather, it would subject the program to judicial review.  In addition, Senator Specter said that this bill will ensure that all Administration-sponsored wiretapping will be judicially reviewed.  This bill is one of three bills relating to the Bush Administration’s warrantless surveillance program that the Senate Judiciary Committee reported out of Committee yesterday.  12:40:09 PM

12:10 Cloture Invoked on the Port Security Bill By a vote of 98-0, the Senate voted to invoke cloture on the Port Security bill. 12:11:32 PM

11:30 Roll Call Vote The Senate is voting on a motion to invoke cloture on H.R. 4954, the Port Security bill.  If the motion passes by a three-fifths vote, further consideration of the Port Security bill will be limited and a vote on the bill is imminent.  If the Senate does not vote to invoke cloture, debate on the bill will continue indefinitely. 12:09:13 PM