The Focus of Today's Session will be   H.R. 2673, the Omnibus Appropriations Bill

5:35 P.M.

Senator McConnell asked unanimous consent that tomorrow morning, beginning at 9:30 a.m. the Senate conduct 4.5 hours of debate before proceeding to a cloture vote at two o'clock on the Omnibus Appropriations bill. This motion was agreed to, and if cloture is invoked, the Senate will proceed to a vote on final passage.  Senator McConnell then asked for unanimous consent for the passage of S.Res286, and a resolution honoring the Louisiana State University Football team for winning the national championship and H.ConRes273, congratulating the Florida little league team as the US Little League champions.   The Senate is now adjourned until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. 

4:45 P.M.

Senator Kennedy has asked that the Senate take up S.2006, a bill to extend and expand the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2003 by unanimous consent.  Senate Nickles, chairman of the Budget Committee has objected to this motion because of a report he has received that indicates states have not spent $5 million in unemployment funds. 

4:30 P.M.

Senator Kennedy is speaking on the rights of workers to be compensated appropriately for overtime pay. 

3:45 P.M.

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman, Senator Gregg is speaking on the Senate floor about funding for education programs that would be lost if the omnibus is not passed.

3:30 P.M.

Senator Harkin briefly spoke about overtime regulations and how the omnibus appropriations bill will affect these regulations.  Senator Lautenberg is currently speaking on media ownership regulations, that also have been modified in the omnibus.

2:45 P.M.

Senator McCain has continued his criticism of the omnibus and many of the "special interest" provisions that have been included in the bill.  He has touched on fisheries regulations, media ownership regulations, and gun regulations.  

2:10 P.M.

Senator McCain has been recognized for up to one hour.  Senator McCain is well known for opposing Congressional "pork projects" that he believes have no business in any spending bill.  He is speaking about many of the projects included in the omnibus bill and suggested that perhaps this is the "super bowl of pork."

1:50 P.M.

Senator Durbin has been speaking about the state of the economy.  He has said that the economic recovery the President claims is occurring, is a jobless recovery.  He also has been speaking about the 8 million people who will lose their overtime pay but may be required to work the same hours because of a provision in the omnibus bill. 

1:25 P.M.

Senator Byrd has been speaking on the Senate floor in response to the President's State of the Union address.  He has been recognized for up to two hours and has used roughly an hour of his time.  .

12:30 P.M.

Senator Reid is speaking about the process that was used to create the omnibus.  He has mentioned that while there were provisions included in bills that passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate but were removed from the final version of the bill.  Senator Reid is also speaking about the Medicare prescription drug bill and what he believes are some of the problems with this bill.

12:15 P.M.

The omnibus continues to be the center of debate on the floor.  Senator McConnell and Senator Domenici expressed their desire to pass the omnibus because of the funds it will provide to important programs.  Senator Domenici, who is Chairman of the Committee of Energy and Natural Resources, has been speaking about how this bill will affect the production of alternative sources of energy. 

11:45 A.M.

During the past hour on the Senate floor Senator Bond and Senator Reed have discussed some of the controversial issues contained in the omnibus.  Senator Bond stated that smaller meat packing companies might have a tougher time implementing country of origin labeling, and that some cows and pigs are born in one country and raised in another. 

11:00 A.M.

Senator Dorgan of North Dakota is speaking about country of origin labeling.  He has stated that he believes this is an important issue especially in the wake of the discovery of mad cow disease in a cow from Canada that was imported to the United States and an outbreak of hepatitis A in Pennsylvania that was spawned from Mexican green onions.  On September 30, 2004 fresh fruits and vegetables, red meats, fish, and peanuts will be required to contain country of origin labeling.  A provision in the omnibus bill would delay the implementation of this rule for two years until September 30, 2006 (except for fish).

10:50 A.M.

Senator Frist has been speaking about tort reform, which he believes will help the economy.  He has also been speaking about medical liability and asbestos reform.  Senator Frist is now looking towards the month ahead discussing some of the issues he would like to consider during this session.

10:15 A.M.

Senator Frist opened this morning's session by asking unanimous consent that the Senate pass S.Res.285, recognizing 2004 as the 50th anniversary of rock and roll.  There was no objection to this motion and Senator Frist is speaking about the state of the economy.   

10:00 A.M.

The Senate will reconvene at 10:00 a.m. to resume debate over the Fiscal Year 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill.  During the last session, Congress passed only 6 of the 13 spending bills for FY04 and the remaining 7 bills have been consolidated into one giant bill.  Yesterday, the Senate voted 48-45 not to end debate on the bill.