Floor Statements

Mr. President, as I announced earlier, Senators should expect a series of rollcall votes in relation to the Legislative Branch appropriations bill at about 5:30 on Monday, July 6.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

This will be a live quorum. We will, as further stated and under the rule, meet at 10 o'clock for the swearing in of Senators to proceed with the impeachment matter.

Mr. President, at this time, the oath should be administered in conformance with article I, section 3, clause 6 of the Constitution and the Senate's impeachment rules.

I move that the Senator from Kentucky, Mr. McConnell, be designated by the Senate to administer the oath to the Acting President pro tempore, the Senator from Hawaii, Mr. Inouye.

Mr. President, the oath shall now be administered by the Presiding Officer to all Senators. This is an appropriate time for any Senator who has cause to be excused from service in this impeachment to make that fact known.

If there is no Senator who desires to be excused, I move that the Presiding Officer, Mr. Inouye, administer the oath to Members of the Senate.

Mr. President, any Senator who was not in the Senate Chamber at the time the oath was administered to the other Senators will make that fact known to the Chair so that the oath may be administered as soon as possible to that Senator. The Secretary will note the names of the Senators who have been sworn and will present to them for signing a book, which will be the Senate's permanent record of the administration of the oath. I remind all Senators who were administered this oath that they must now sign the oath book, which is at the desk, before leaving the Chamber.

Mr. President, on behalf of myself and the distinguished Republican leader, Mr. McConnell, I send to the desk a resolution that provides for the issuance of a summons to Judge Samuel B. Kent, for Judge Kent's answer to the Articles of Impeachment against him, and for a replication by the House, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was agreed to.

Mr. President, on behalf of myself and the distinguished Republican leader, Mr. McConnell, I send a resolution to the desk on the appointment of an impeachment trial committee and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was agreed to.

Mr. President, in accordance with the resolution on the appointment of an impeachment trial committee, I recommend to the Chair the appointment of Senators McCaskill (chairman), Klobuchar, Whitehouse, Udall of New Mexico, Shaheen, and Kaufman.

Mr. President, the Committee on Rules and Administration will be providing its hearing room, SR-301, to the impeachment committee for an organizational meeting at a time to be determined.

Mr. President, I ask in an orderly fashion that Senators approach the desk for the signing of the resolution of impeachment before they leave the Chamber.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, at 11 o'clock today, there will be a vote on the nomination of Mr. Koh, to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State. I tell all Senators I had a conversation with the Republican leader today. We are doing our best to move to a couple appropriations bills. The first in line is the Legislative Branch appropriations bill, and the next is Homeland Security. We hope we can get on those. The Republican leader said he would do his best to help us do that. I hope that, in fact, is the case. We will keep Members advised as to what we will do the rest of the day.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask unanimous consent we proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I rise to call to the attention of the Senate the 15th anniversary celebration of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, also known as PLAN. PLAN is a

consortium of more than 25 organizations in Nevada that strives for social, economic, and environmental justice throughout the State. PLAN is dedicated to improving the future of all Nevadans by fostering relationships and building bridges between our communities. By working with diverse constituencies, PLAN is involved in impacting policy decisions in our great State of Nevada.

The Progressive Leadership of Nevada was established in 1994 as a nonprofit organization focusing on advocacy and education. Among its many accomplishments, this outstanding coalition helped Nevada become the 11th State in our Nation to enact the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the 13th State to extend hate crimes legislation. Additionally, PLAN was instrumental in making Nevada's tax system more equitable, passing death penalty reforms, and increasing human services funding.

I commend the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada for its 15 years of continued support and achievements on behalf of the Silver State. Thanks to the leadership of everyone at PLAN, Nevada continues to ensure protections and advancement of all citizens.

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 85, S. 962.

I ask unanimous consent the committee-reported amendments be agreed to, the bill as amended be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent we now discharge the Judiciary Committee from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 29 and we proceed to that matter.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be a sponsor of this legislation.

I ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

I now ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 205.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I understand that S. 1344, introduced earlier today by a Senator, is at the desk and due for its first reading.

Mr. President, I ask now for its second reading, but I object to my own request.