Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 148, that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 406, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 406 until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 17; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Hall nomination, postcloture; further, that all postcloture time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and that following the cloture vote on the Munley nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; that if cloture is invoked on the Munley nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:15 p.m.; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 329, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 330, submitted earlier today.

I know of no further debate on the resolution.

I ask unanimous consent the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 331, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 7; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Kugler nomination postcloture; further, that at 11:45 a.m., all postcloture time be considered expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nomination; further, that if cloture is invoked on the Gomez nomination, all postcloture time be considered expired at 1:45 p.m.; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

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

Mr. President, I thank my fellow Senators for consenting to the unanimous passage of S. 460, the Urban Indian Health Confer Act, which I introduced with Senator Mullin.

S. 460 requires the Department of Health and Human Services--HHS--and its sub-agencies to ``confer'' with Urban Indian Organizations--UIOs-- when Federal decision-making processes impact their delivery of healthcare services. I want to be clear that this bill does not equate formal Tribal consultation with an urban confer policy. Indeed, UIOs are not federally recognized Indian Tribes and do not have a government-to-government relationship with the federal government. But there is a demonstrated need for direct communication channels between Federal health agencies and UIOs. A HHS-wide confer policy for UIOs should reflect the unique needs of urban Native communities, not supplant--or in any way impact--the existing right of Tribal governments to formal consultation with HHS. It is simply good policy to provide the Federal Government with more tools, not less, to engage with and gather information from Native people wherever they live to improve their healthcare outcomes. S. 460 does just that.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.