To watch or listen to the Senate floor live please visit CSPAN2

The Focus of Today's Session will be
S.1637, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act

5:40 P.M.

The Senate is currently in a Quorum Call.  Debate has continued over S.1637 this afternoon with discussion of possible amendments to the bill.  No further roll call votes are expected this evening. 

4:45 P.M.

Senator Harkin is speaking about overtime regulations.  During debate last year both the Senate and the House voted not to prevent the implementation of a rule proposed by the Department of Labor to allow employers not to pay overtime to some workers. 

4:30 P.M.

By a vote of 70-26 the Senate voted to approved the Dodd amendment.  Senator Stevens is now honoring Senator Inouye and his long, distinguished service to the Senate.  Senator Inouye has cast more than 13,000 votes. 

4:00 P.M.

Senator McConnell's second degree amendment was accepted by voice vote and the Senate is now voting on Senator Dodd's amendment. 

3:40 P.M.

Senator Inhofe discussed the current Asbestos litigation situation, stating that at least 70 companies have been forced into bankruptcy due to excessive litigation. He stated that a resolution must be found for both litigants and companies to receive closure around this issue.

3:25 P.M.

Senator Thomas was discussing the JOBS bill and was arguing that the United States cannot afford economic isolation. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been experiencing continual growth over the past several years, and we have an increasingly dynamic economy. We need to focus on training and skill development in order to better our economy, and the service trade has provided more than the manufacturing service has. He argues that we cannot put walls up around America.

2:10 P.M.

Senator Baucus, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee is speaking about U.S. trade relations with foreign countries.  He has been questioning why the U.S. does not pursue a more aggressive strategy towards trading with countries like India, that have not traditionally been strong trade partners for the U.S.  The current debate is over Senator McConnell's second degree amendment to Senator Dodd's amendment.  For the text of Senator McConnell's amendment, click here.

12:45 P.M.

Continuing the consideration of his debate, Senator Christopher Dodd is speaking about his amendment and is thanking Senator Durbin for his support of this proposed piece of legislation.  Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, stating that Senator Dodd's amendment is modest, said that other senators can add second degree amendments to Senator Dodd's amendment "until the cows come home" as long as the Senate has a chance to vote on Dodd's amendment.  Also called a "perfecting amendment," a second degree amendment is an amendment offered to an amendment.

12:30 P.M.

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois claims that if you asked a person on the street "Is it a good thing for America that good-paying jobs are now going overseas and are being outsourced overseas?" and "Is it good or bad to eliminate jobs here in America and send them overseas?", he feels that the common sense answer would be that it is not a good thing.  He said that unfortunately this is not the view held by the Bush Administration. The Senator is voicing his support of Senator Dodd's amendment which would prohibit the federal government from giving money to entities which turn around and give the money to companies overseas, with certain exceptions. 

12:15 P.M.

Senator Chuck Grassley is discussing the need to keep "Made in America" as a "badge of honor."  He is quoting a statement made by Robert Reich, U.S. Secretary of Labor during President Clinton's first term, that claimed higher productivity is a main contributor to the number of manufacturing jobs declining.  While acknowledging that many things change with time and technological advances, Senator Grassley referenced that in the Capitol Building there are still elevator operators.

12:00 P.M.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has come to the floor to discuss the 2nd degree amendment he is proposing. Central to his comments is the proposition that an extraordinary amount of jobs available to Americans come from foreign companies with facilities in this country. He stated that 6.4 million Americans living in states across the country are employed by foreign corporations and that it would be devastating to our economy should these corporations leave due an uncompetitive environment.

11:30 A.M.

With the period of morning business now over, the Senate has proceeded to consideration of S. 1637 and is beginning debate with Senator Christopher Dodd's amendment #2660. Currently, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is discussing his support for the Dodd amendment stating how he believes it will help our economy move in the right direction. Critical of the Bush administration’s stewardship of the economy, Senator Kennedy is claiming that the state of the American economy remains troublesome. Using floor charts, he is highlighting the Bush jobs record and stating that every year job growth fails to meet the President’s promises.

10:45 A.M.

Senator Kit Bond of Missouri discussed many of the causes for the increased outsourcing of jobs as he felt these reasons were not thoroughly explored in yesterday’s debate on the pending JOBS Act, S. 1637. He spoke of how governmental regulations, such as environmental policies drive up production costs and thereby provide incentives for companies to move their production facilities abroad.

10:15 A.M.

As the period of morning business continued, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa came to the floor to speak of the ongoing crisis in Haiti. He feels that the international community did essentially nothing to prevent the forced abdication of Haiti’s democratically elected president, Jean Bertrand Aristide. He further expressed his concern that innocent Haitian civilians, already residing in the poorest nation in the hemisphere and having sustained years of oppressive leadership, continue to endure hardship while the current administration refuses to offer substantive humanitarian relief. He concluded by asking why there is money to help rebuild Iraq, a very rich country due to its abundant supply of oil, but no American resources available in the form of monetary assistance, to assist a poor nation so close to our own borders.

10:00 A.M.

Democratic minority leader, Tom Daschle came to the floor to speak of several foreign policy matters, focusing his remarks largely on the current state of U.S. – Latin American relations. He referenced the upcoming meeting scheduled for later this week between President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox as an opportunity to improve relations between our two countries which have suffered in the post 9-11 period, in Senator Daschle’s opinion. He also stressed that in his estimation, emerging threats and present crises in places such as Argentina, Venezuela and Haiti have not been met with strong U.S. leadership in recent years.

Following Senator Daschle, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut shared some of his experiences from the campaign trail and offered his view of how the race for the presidency should be conducted. He stressed that the American people would be best served by choosing a leader who can most successfully restore the nation’s confidence and optimism. He further spoke of the ongoing war in Iraq and the need for all leaders to rise above partisan politics to put American national security responsibilities first.

9:30 A.M.

The Senate will reconvene at 9:30 this morning and be in a period of morning business for approximately an hour. It will then resume consideration of S.1637, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act. Introduced by Senator Grassley of Iowa, the JOBS Act (also referred to as the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income or FSC/ETI bill) would repeal an export tax subsidy ruled to be illegal by the World Trade Organization while offering new corporate tax relief over a period of ten years. Last fall the European Union threatened to impose sanctions on the U.S. if the tax code was not altered to be in compliance with the WTO’s ruling. Votes on several amendments to the bill are expected throughout the day. Debate on the bill may not be concluded until after the Senate’s mid-March recess.