Thursday, June 07, 2007

4:45 Senators Speak on Stem Cell Bill Several Senators spoke on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which passed the House of Representatives earlier today and is on its way to the White House.  Senators Harkin, Murray, Carper, Durbin and Dorgan spoke in favor of this measure and urged the President not to veto this legislation, which he has said he will do.  This bill would authorize federal funding for stem cell research. 5:57:43 PM

2:00 Senators Continue to Discuss Immigration Bill Senators continue to discuss the immigration reform bill and how the discussion will proceed.  There is disagreement on which amendments will be considered and voted on next; the Majority Leader Senator Reid offered a few combinations of amendments and Senator Sessions did not agree because he said there was not enough time to review all of the amendments before they would be considered.  2:59:40 PM

12:30 Cloture Motion Fails The motion to invoke cloture on the Immigration Bill failed by a vote of 34-61. 12:28:13 PM

12:00 Roll Call Vote The Senate is currently voting on the motion to invoke cloture on S.1348, the Immigration Bill. 12:01:29 PM

11:55 Cloture Motion Fails The motion to invoke cloture on the substitute amendment #1150 to the Immigration Bill failed by a vote of 33-63. 11:59:40 AM

11:40 Roll Call Vote The Senate is currently voting on the motion to invoke cloture on the substitute amendment #1150 to the Immigration Bill. 11:42:42 AM

11:30 Coburn Amendment Fails The Coburn amendment was not agreed to by a vote of 42-54. 11:33:16 AM

11:05 Roll Call Vote The Senate is currently voting on the Coburn amendment #1311 to the Immigration Bill. 11:06:10 AM

10:35 Senators Debate Cloture Majority Leader Reid came to the floor to speak in favor of cloture on the Immigration Bill.  He stated that a total of 42 amendments have been voted on and argued that everybody has had an opportunity to offer amendments.  He urged the Senate to vote for cloture so that the Immigration Bill can be finished.  Minority Leader McConnell spoke against cloture, arguing that the minority needs more time to have roll call votes on their amendments.   10:48:55 AM

10:20 Senator Coburn Speaks in Favor of His Amendment Senator Coburn of Oklahoma came to the floor to speak in favor of his amendment, #1311, the Coburn-DeMint trigger amendment.  He stated that his amendment would require the enforcement of existing border security and immigration laws and Congressional approval before amnesty can be granted.  He argued that our borders are not secure and that Congress needs to regain the trust of the American people before allowing any sort of immigration plan to go forward.  Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas came to the floor to speak against the amendment, arguing that it would negate a provision of the Secure Fence Bill of 2006 that allows local communities to have input on where border fences would be located. 10:35:54 AM

9:30 Debate Continues on Immigration The Senate stands in adjournment until 10:00 a.m. today.  At 10:00 a.m. they will resume consideration of S. 1348, the Immigration Reform Bill.  After one hour of debate the Senate will vote on the Coburn amendment and the motion to invoke cloture on the substitute amendment to the Immigration Bill. 9:25:13 AM