Monday, October 15, 2007: Resume Consideration of Commerce, Justice and Science Spending

[19:32]
John Thune (SD) is offering a new amendment. It would cut wasteful spending in some areas (he did not elaborate) and offer new funds for law enforcement in Indian country.

[19:27]
Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) is closing up Senate business for the day.

There are 8 Dem Amdts. and 26 Rep. amendments left to deal with. Reid says that the Senate will finish this bill tomorrow. If we have to get the Sergeant at Arms out here to bring people in for votes, we'll do that. Now he says maybe it will take until Wednesday morning. People wanna finish appropriations bills. When we finish this, we'll have seven left. I'm wondering if the Republicans are wanting to stop us from passing these bills. He threatens to table the Republican amendments. "I have the nation's business to be concerned about." We're back in town, we need to get back to legislating.

One way or another, we'll work through these amendments. He says he will hold off filing cloture because he wants to get the amendments all worked out. It sounds like, though, that 14:30 is the deadline for getting amendments agreed to. Otherwise, a successful cloture vote would significantly reduce the number of agreements that could be voted on thereafter.


[18:57]
Right now Barbara Mikulski (MD) is clearing amendments to the bill. This is a final step before a vote for passage of the bill. These amendments are not controversial or have been subject to some larger deal so that they can be agreed to by a voice vote. Right now Sens. Mikulski and someone else off screen are the only senators voting "aye" but no one is voting no, so "the ayes appear to have it, the ayes do have it, the amendment is agreed to."

There are 36 amendments pending. Staff will be working all night to get most of the rest of them cleared.

Mikulski says that a final vote could come tomorrow but she did not say that it would come tomorrow, leading me to believe that it could come very late tomorrow but more likely Wednesday.