A bill to authorize the transfer of certain funds from the Senate Gift Shop Revolving Fund to the Senate Employee Child Care Center.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1537, introduced earlier today.

Madam President, I have to say this: The night before last at 9 o'clock at night, I got a call from the White House. They were upset because of this Christmas ornament issue on the emergency supplemental; it is so bad--Christmas tree ornaments in the emergency supplemental.

I said: Do you know what it is about? It is about the Senate Day Care Center.

They have sold Christmas tree ornaments every year to defray the cost for Senate employees for childcare. It doesn't cost the Government anything, but some lawyer said they didn't have the legal authority to do that, and we put language in the emergency supplemental to allow the Senate Day Care to sell Christmas tree ornaments.

They said: If you put it in there, the President is going to veto the bill. So we took it out.

Can you imagine that? It is hard for me to comprehend, in a budget involving $120 billion, the President threatens to veto it over Christmas tree ornaments, something that costs the Government nothing and helps our very valued Senate employees take care of their kids.

Anyway, I couldn't pass that up.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statement relating to the bill be printed in the Record, with no intervening action or debate. And we got it done anyway.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 1537) to authorize the transfer of certain funds from the Senate Gift Shop Revolving Fund to the Senate Employee Child Care Center, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.