Wednesday, September 20, 2006

4:17 Senator Specter speaks about Military Tribunals Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is speaking about the two bills regarding military tribunals.  There are two bills pending on this issue, one introduced by the President and one sponsored by Senators Warner, McCain, and Graham.  Senator Specter is concerned that both bills eliminate the right of habeas corpus for detainees.  He mentioned the fact that the Constitution provides the right to challenge if an individual is being lawfully held.  Since the Constitution provides this right, Congress cannot pass legislation that would remove this, so Senator Specter is requesting that these two bills be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he is Chairman, before they are brought to the Senate floor for a vote.  If these bills come before the Senate without protections for habeas corpus, Senator Specter and others will offer amendments to provide protections. Otherwise, Senator Specter said, detainees will have absolutely no rights. 4:44:16 PM

3:10 Senator Sessions speaks on Military Tribunals Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama spoke in support of the Administration’s current military tribunal system.  He believes the President’s system has been legal from the start because the detainees do not fall under the definition of prisoners of war, and therefore do not fall under the protections of the Geneva conventions.  After the Supreme Court ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the President sent legislation to Congress to clarify what can be done with interrogations and Senator Sessions supports this legislation because he believes that Congress needs to act quickly in order to interrogate and try detainees.  He expressed concern that Congress may overreach their boundaries by passing the legislation coming from the Armed Services Committee and urge Senators to support the President’s proposal. 3:44:09 PM

2:50 Senator Leahy Opposes Secure Fence Bill Senator Patrick Leahy expressed confusion about the Administration’s positions and priorities as we are coming to the end of the legislative session.  He mentioned many issues of importance that the Senate could be addressing; putting an end to war profiteering in Iraq, helping those still suffering from the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina, consider the remaining appropriations bills.  Senator Leahy said that Congress is instead considering the Secure Fence Bill, which was rushed through the House of Representatives and on which the Senate has not held any hearings.  He mentioned that the Senate has already passed a comprehensive bipartisan immigration bill.  Senator Leahy believes this Fence bill is a waste of federal dollars and there are other ways to address immigration and border control in the United States. 3:09:44 PM

2:30 Senator Thune speaks on HR 5534 Senator John Thune of North Dakota spoke on the importance of decreasing America’s reliance on foreign energy sources and increasing the focus on renewable energies such as Ethanol E85 fuel.  He mentioned that Congress made a commitment to renewable energies in last year’s Energy Policy Act and that Congress needs to follow through on that commitment.  Senator Thune said that by supporting HR 5534, Congress would address a gap in the distribution system of E85 fuel.  This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 355 to 9, but there is currently a hold on this legislation in the Senate.  Senator Thune again urged his colleagues to remove the hold and vote on this bill before the Senate recesses in the next two weeks. 2:46:22 PM

1:45 Senator Baucus Speaks on Tax Credits Extenders Bill Senator Max Baucus spoke again on the difference between legally owed taxes and taxes actually paid to the government.  He expressed frustration that Congress has not renewed and extended important tax laws.  If Congress does not pass these tax extenders prior to October 15, then there will be a lot of confusion for taxpayers in 2006 and the IRS will have to spend extra moneys and additional time to print out supplemental forms.  Senator Baucus also mentioned that these extenders will primarily affect teachers because the education deduction expires this year.  When Senator Baucus asked for unanimous consent that two amendments be included in H.R. 4096, The Tax Relief Bill, there was an objection and these amendments were not included.  Senator Harry Reid joined Senator Baucus in a call to the Senate to take action on this legislation. 2:08:48 PM

1:20 Senator Chambliss Speaks in Favor of the Secure Fence Bill Senator Chambliss of Georgia came to the floor to speak in support of H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence bill.  He argued that securing the borders is the best way to stop illegal immigration, drug smuggling and human trafficking.  He added that securing the borders also can help diminish the threat of terrorists crossing the border with nuclear or biological weapons.  He is in favor of language that mandates 900 miles of vehicle barriers and fencing.  He urged the Senate to vote in favor of this bill because he does not think that the comprehensive immigration bill will be passed before the Senate recesses for October.  1:29:06 PM

11:50 Senators Speak About the Middle Class Senator Stabenow from Michigan came to the floor to speak about challenges that middle class families are facing.  She stated that Americans are losing jobs in the manufacturing sector, and that Michigan has been particularly hard hit because of the auto sector.  Other challenges that the middle class face include the increasing cost of college, the fear of losing pensions, the cost of health care and health insurance, and high gas prices.  Senator Stabenow stated that these factors are causing the middle class to fall behind.  Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island spoke in support of Senator Stabenow’s comments.  He argued that the middle class is falling behind due to the current Administration’s policies.  He stated that under the Clinton administration there was equal income growth for all Americans, whereas today only the wealthiest Americans have benefited from the current economic policies. 1:06:27 PM

11:45 Motion to Invoke Cloture Passes The motion to invoke cloture on H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence bill, passed by a vote of 94-0.  Debate on this bill is now limited and a vote will follow debate. 11:54:36 AM

11:15 Roll Call Vote The Senate is now voting on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence bill.  11:18:05 AM

10:25 Senator Reid Speaks About the Secure Fence Bill Senate minority leader Senator Reid came to the floor to speak against the Secure Fence bill.  He argued that the timing of the bill suggests that it is being brought up as an election maneuver, not as true immigration reform.  He stated that a fence will not fix our immigration system and that the nation would be better served by a comprehensive immigration bill.  He stated that he will vote yes on the motion to proceed to this bill in hopes that it can be amended to include more comprehensive immigration measures. 10:55:59 AM

10:10 Senator Frist Speaks About the Secure Fence Bill Senator Frist returned to the floor to discuss the Secure Fence bill.    He stated that it is unlikely that a conference agreement on the comprehensive immigration bill will be passed before the September break.  Senator Frist said that he prefers a comprehensive immigration solution, but argued that the country needs an enforcement-first approach to immigration, such as this bill.  The Secure Fence Act of 2006, if passed, would direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate actions to establish operational control over the international land and maritime borders of the United States.  These actions include building border fencing.  Senator Sessions of Alabama also came to the floor to support this bill. 10:32:13 AM

9:35 Senator Frist Speaks About Terror Legislation Senator Frist, the majority leader, spoke about domestic surveillance and military tribunals in his opening remarks.  He commended Senators Warner, Graham and McCain for engaging the Administration in dialogue about this legislation.  He argued that this legislation must preserve our current intelligence gathering programs, protect classified information about these programs, and allow suspected terrorists to be put on trial.  He stated that with continued cooperation it is possible that in the next few days a resolution could be agreed upon that satisfies both the Senate majority and the President. 10:22:12 AM

9:30 Senate Reconvenes The Senate reconvened at 9:30 and will be in a period of morning business for up to 30 minutes with the time being equally divided between the Majority and Minority.  Thereafter, the Senate will debate H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence bill for one hour, followed by a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture for this bill.  There will be a full meeting of the Judiciary Committee this morning regarding Reporters’ Privilege legislation. 9:48:53 AM