mr. leahy: mr. president, i call up amendment number 1407 as a second-degree to the amendment that has been proposed by mr. sessions. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. sessions: reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i'm not familiar with the --. mr. leahy: mr. president -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. please take your conversations outside. the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i believe i have the right to offer the second-degree. do i not? mr. sessions: mr. president? mr. leahy: let me -- while you're determining that, let me explain what this does. it would create a permanent e-v-5 immigrant program. that is program that generated billions of dollars in capital investment in american communities. it created thousands of domestic jobs. there are 24 of these centers now around the country. i mentioned to the senator from alabama, alabama has a strong track record with it statewide. the problem

. >> thank you, mr. leahy. >> thank you. senator franken, please continue. >> thank you, mr. chairman. what i was saying is this is the first hearings since 1965 that senator kennedy has not been present and i know he's off the committee now but we do miss his presence. these televised hearings over the years have taught americans a lot about our constitution and the role that the courts play in upholding and defending it. i look forward to listening to all of your questions and the issues that you and your constituents care about. to judge sotomayor, welcome. over the next few days i expect to learn from you, as well. as has been said, you are the most experienced nominee to the supreme court in 100 years and after meeting with you in my office last week, i know you are not just an outstanding juris but an exceptional individual and as others have said, your story is inspirational and one which all americans should take great pride in. i welcome your family, as well. as most of you know, this is my fifth day in office. that may mean i'm the most junior senator but it also me

mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i thank my colleagues for accepting the -- the amendment. one more time, i also thank the distinguished senator from michigan, the chairman of the committee, the distinguished majority leader for their work on this, as well as my staff, bruce cohen, christine lucius and others on the staff who have worked -- noah bookbinder, i'm sorry, noah bookbinder, who worked so hard on this. it is -- we've made it very clear, the senate has made it very clear our -- how we hold in abhorrence hate crimes. i have a longer speech in the record that will cover this, but i thank my colleagues for standing up and being so strongly -- voice so strong until a bipartisan way their opposition to hate crimes. and i yield the floor, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: franken:. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum

mr. leahy: mr. president, what is the parliamentary situation? the presiding officer: the senate is considering s. 139. -- s. 1309. mr. leahy: thank you, moments ago i left the judiciary committee hearing room. we're considering judge sotomayor to be an associate justice on the supreme court. considering this historic and well-qualified nominee, many americans may feel our country has completely turned a corner in terms of equality and civil rights. i certainly hope that judge sotomayor's nomination will unite us as a nation. but i'm aware that there is a lot more that still has to be done to protect the civil rights of all americans. i want to notify my colleagues that i plan to offer that matthew shepherd hate crimes prevention act is offered to the pending amendment of the defense authorization bill. i thank senator collins and senator snowe, and a number of other bipartisan cosponsors for their support. now, this measure has long been a priority bill for senator ted kennedy. i commend him for his steadfast leadership over the past decade in w

reid for mr. leahy and others proposes an amendment numbered 1511. at the end of the bill -- mr.eid: i ask further reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i now ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i now, mr. president, call up a second-degree amendment, which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the from nevada, mr. reid, for mr. kennedy, proposes amendment numbered 1539 to amendment number 1511. mr. reid: i ask further reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: now i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on leahy amendment, number 1511, to s. 1390, the national defense authorizati

mr. henderson, good to work with you. senator leahy and i were talking during the commercials we're going to do that crack cocaine thing that you and i have talked about before. >> thank you, senator. >> yeah. maybe we'll go kill a hooker, who knows? these hearings turn into season six of "the liar". [ laughter ] here in california, we have no money. our budget situation is a mess, and when you have no money, what do you do? you sell drugs, right? a state representative from san francisco just introduced a bill that would legalize marijuana. he claims it would raise almost $1.5 billion a year for the state in taxes. and then another $3 billion in chee-to sales. [ laughter ] dispodnt prones of the bill wasted no time getting their message out there. >> it's abundant. it grows easily. and it could bring cafo liiarn muiachreeed nudeve it's marijuana. [ coughing sorry, just -- marijuana. [ coughing ] >> you do know that. [ cheers and applause ] >> he alone could balance the budget. one more thing. the department of homeland security is loo

mr. chairman, chairman leahy, for the manner in which he has conducted this hearing. i want to thank senator sessions for the fairness in which he worked with our chairman so that each one of us would have the opportunity to ask as many questions as we want to get all the information. i might point out i've been told by staff that there were 17 questions asked on a wise latina, so we not only compliment judge sotomayor for her patience and i want to compliment the chairman and ranking member for their patience in allowing each of us to pursue the information we thought that was relevant in evaluating judge sotomayor's qualifications to serve on the supreme court of the united states. i believe judge sotomayor's background and her professional accomplishments will add strength, balance and leadership to the supreme court. her personal story that we've heard about being part of an immigrant family from puerto rico, the fact that she received a scholarship to be able to attend college is an inspirational story about success in our country. we know of her professional bac

mr. chairman, chairman leahy, for the manner in which he has conducted this hearing, how to thank senator sessions for the areas in which two work with our chairman so that each one of us would have the opposite to ask as many questions as we want to get all the information. i might point out i've been told by staff that there are 17 questions asked on a wise latina so we not only complement the judge sotomayor for her patients but i also want to compliment to the chairman and ranking member for their patience. and allowing each of us to pursue the information they thought was relevant to evaluating judge sotomayor's qualifications to serve and on the supreme court of the united states. i believe is judge sotomayor, her background and professional accomplishments will and strength, balance and leadership to the supreme court. for personal sorry that we have heard about being part of an immigrant family from puerto rico, the fact as to receive a scholarship to be able to attend college, it is an inspirational story. in about success in our country. we know who her professional background a

leahy. >> thank you. senator franken, please. >> ank you, mr. chairman. what i was saying this is the first hearing since 1965 tat senator kendy has not been present and i know he'sff the committee now, but we do miss his presence. thestelevised hearings have taught americans a lot aboutur constitution and the ro the courts play in upholding and defending it. i look forward to listening to all of your qstions and the issues that y and your constituents care abt. to judge sotayor. welcome. over the next few days, i expect to learn from you as wel as been said, you're theost perienced ninee to the sueme court in 100 year and after meeting you in my offce last week, i know you're not just an outandingjudge, but anexceptional individual. your story is inspirational, o whicall americans should take great pride in and i welcome your family as wl. as most of you know, this is m fifth day in office. that may mean i'm the mt junior senator, but also means that i am the setor who mo recently took t oath of office. st tuesday, i swore to suppo anddefend the constitu

mr. chairman, chairman leahy, for the manner in which he has conducted this hearing. i want to thank senator sessions for the fairness in which he worked with our chairman so that each one of us would have the opportunity to ask as many questions as we want to get all the information. i might point out i've been told by staff that there were 17 questions asked on a wise latina, so we not only compliment judge sotomayor for her patience and i want to compliment the chairman and ranking member for their patience in allowing each of us to pursue the information we thought that was relevant in evaluating judge sotomayor's qualifications to serve on the supreme court of the united states. i believe judge sotomayor's background and her professional accomplishments will add strength, balance and leadership to the supreme court. her personal story that we've heard about being part of an immigrant family from puerto rico, the fact that she received a scholarship to be able to attend college is an inspirational story about success in our country. we know of her professional bac

mr. anderson, it's good to work with you. senator leahy and i, i'm talking during these hearings we're going to do that crack cocaine thing that you and i've talked about before. we've got to. >> thank you, senator. i appreciate that. >> let me restate that. zbloo please rephrase. >> i misspoke. >> we're going to reduce the burden of penalties in some of the crack cocaine cases and make them fair. >> this is a terrorist version of sesame street. watch this. >> this is children's television. innocent enough at first glance. but this program on the hamas-runnal aqsa tv features the sun and daughter of a female suicide bomber watching a re-enactment of their mother's mission. it was first aired in 2007 and has now reaired, this time with a studio audience. killed four israelis in a 2004 attack between gaza and israel. in the video, an actress playing her prepared explosives for her mission ignoring her children's questions about what she is doing. the daughter then sees a news reporter about the suicide bombing and sings only now i understand

mr. henderson, it's good to work with you. senator leahyck cocaine thing you and i have talked about before. >> wow. >> after an awkward pause like we were just trying to let you know what people in the room did, henderson apparently laug

leahy. >> senator franken? >> thank you, mr. chairman.t i was saying, is this is the first hearing since 1965 that senator kennedy has not been present and i know he's off the committee now, but we do miss his presence. these televised hearings over the years have taught americans a lot about our constitution and the role that the courts play in upholding and defending it. i look forward to listening to all of your questions and the issues that you and your constituents care about. judge sotomayor, welcome. over the next few days, i expect to learn from you as well. as has been said, you are the most experienced nominee to the supreme court in 100 years, and after meeting you in my office last week, i know that you're not just an outstanding jurist but an exceptional individual and as others have said, your story is inspirational and one which all americans should take great pride in. i welcome your family as well. as most of you know, this is my fifth day in office. that may mean i'm the most junior senator, but it also means that i am t

mr. chairman. >> thank you verymuch, senator card. as i noted earlie we will now ecess until:30 tomorrow moning. and wish you all a pleasant evening. thank you. judy: with that, chairn patrick leahy gavels the judiciary committee to a close fo the day. theyecessed util 9:30 tomorrow stern time. a fewinutes for smarizing we are catching jud sonia sotomayor leave. nd we have beenithout air conditioning for the la few hours a maybe that accounts for the weariness on faces of veral people out there. let's quicy recap marsha, whatome of the republica senators we in the last round. senator grassley in particular pushing or probing, you will. >> definitely. >> judge sotomayor. >> on one of the most controversial issuesin society today, and that's same-sex marrge. he was folling in the pathf the line questionsbout old precedents. and whether she coidered them settled law. one of which is a 1972 supreme cort decision at dismissed an apeal from a minnesota case involving a ste law that phibited same-sex marriages. the court dismisd it, but did not say anything o the merits. it simply said tre was no federal question f it to take jurisdiction in this case. but heanted hero sayhat this s a p

mr. durbin: i want to make sure that senator boxer has her chance. if i could make two points. senator reid offered this amendment on behalf of senator r leahy, now presiding over the sotomayor hearings. i know he supports it. i support it as well, the hate crimes legislation. mr. mccain: could i respond to that? it is one thing to have the chairman of the committee support it. it's another thing to have the legislation go through the committee with the proper debate and discussion on the amendment. but go ahead. mr. durbin: the second point i would like to make to the senator from arizona is that when we asked for leave or unanimous consent from the republican side november to the hate crimes -- move to the hate crimes legislation, there was objection. it isn't as though we haven't tried to go through regular order. this is the only path we can use to bring this matter to a conclusion. and it can be done in a responsible way quickly. it doesn't have to drag out over a matter of days. the senator knows that. if we can get an agreement on both sides to go to a reasonable time for debate and vote on the bill, i think that would meet the needs

mr. chairman. i want to congratulate chairman leahy and senator sessions as wellsotomayor's confirmation hearings. the proceedings are fair to all members and most importantly, to the nominee. today, i am pleased to cast my vote for judge sotomayor, an individual whose life story is an inspiration to millions of americans. a child of immigrants with modest means, judge sotomayor has risen by dint of exemplary academic accomplishment and hard work now to the cusp of confirmation to our nation's highest court. but judge sotomayor is much more than only a story of accomplishment. she has shown herself to be a judge truly worthy of elevation to the supreme court. both on the bench and before this committee, judge sotomayor has proved that she has the necessary character, competence and integrity to serve on the supreme court. judge sotomayor's distinguished 17 year judicial record demonstrates her commitment to fair and impartial application of the law and respect for the values which make up our constitution. at her hearing, judge sotomayor assured us that she will listen with an open mind to all sid

mr. chairman. >> thank you very much, senator cardin. as i noted earlier, we will now recess until 9:30 tomorrow morning. and wish you all a pleasant evening. thank you. >> judy: with that, chairman patrick leahy gavels the judiciary committee to a close for the day. they recessed until 9:30 tomorrow eastern time. a few minutes for summarizing we are catching judge sonia sotomayor leave. and we have been without air conditioning for the last few hours and maybe that accounts for the weariness on faces of several people out there. let's quickly recap, marsha, what some of the republican senators were in the last round. senator grassley in particular pushing or probing, if you will. >> definitely. >> judge sotomayor. >> on one of the most controversial issues in society today, and that's same-sex marriage. he was following in the path of the line of questions about old precedents. and whether she considered them settled law. one of which is a 1972 supreme court decision that dismissed an appeal from a minnesota case involving a state law that prohibited same-sex marriages. the court dismissed it, but did not say anything on the merits. it simply said there was no federal question for it to take

mr. cardin: i ask that a consultant on senator leahy's judiciary staff be given floor privileges for the week and until august 8, 2009. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. cardin: mr. president, with that, i would yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mr. gregg: i'd ask further proceedings under the quorum call be set aside. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gregg: mr. president, i want to rise to speak on apcouple of items. i understand the leader may be headed out to ask for unanimous consent. obviously i will yield the floor if he should arrive for that purpose. the two things i want to speak about were, first, this rumbling that we're starting to hear about having a third stimulus package. some people are saying it is the second stimulus package. but it is the third stimulus package. we did a tax stimulus package, about $140 billion. then we did the $700-plus billion stimulus pa

. >> what senator leahy was alluding to was some of the extreme statements that clearly were made about the judge before the hearing that came from people like mr. limbaugh and mr. gingrich and others. i don't think he was referring to his senate colleagues who i believe tried doing a good job raising questions they had regarding her previous statements. overall i thought it was a very calm and civil exchange of views. there's disagreements, of course on her record, but this is someone who brings -- will bring more experience than any other nominee to the supreme court. and i believe she will be confirmed. >> i was struck, we had a week of hearings ma that were calm and then a crackling of back and forth. >> in fairness, i think the context was the hearings, go back to thurgood markel's hearings and that what made sessions jump. i agree with donna, they were civil, reasonable, talked about the record for the most part. the most interesting aspect of the hearing, to me, it was that the whole question of racial politics or racial judging, judging by race or gender, which is what the whole wise latina woman thing was about, was absolutely off the

mr. cochran: first i want to thank senators leahy and sessions for their handling of the hearings, the meetings in the judiciary committee on the subject of the supreme court confirmation of judge sotomayor. their meetings were both informative and respectful. and i think reflect the traditions of the united states senate. both judge sotomayor and the judicial confirmation process were treated with the respect they deserve. the senate's constitutional role to advise and consent on federal judicial nominations is one that all senators take seriously. and i, like most senators, have traditionally shown deference to the president's role in submitting to the senate nominees for the federal judiciary. it's a role that the senate shares with the president as many senators know. if a nominee was qualified by education, experience, and judicial temperment, then that nominee would likely be confirmed by the senate regardless of the political party of the president. but in recent years we've seen that standard dramatically altered. during the administration of president george w. bush, for example, sever

mr. henderson, it's good to work with you. senator leahy i in talking during these hearings we're going to do that crack cocaine thing that you and i have talked about before. [laughter] >> thank you, senator. i appreciate it. >> let me correct the record. >> please rephrase it, senator. [laughter] >> please rephrase. >> i misspoke. >> no, it's quite all right. >> we're going to reduce the burden of penalties in some of the crack cocaine cases and make them fair. [laughter] >> so mr. ricci, thank you for your work. i would say, mr. henderson, that i said the legal defense fund is the good organization in my opening statement. and i think it has -- it has every right to advocate those positions that it does. but the nominee was on the board for a long time and it did take some positions that she was rightly asked about whether or not she agreed to it especially during some of those times she was chairman of the litigation committee. but i value these -- i value that groups can come together and file lawsuits and take the matter to the court.

mr. chairman. >> thank you. >> all right, so the first hour of questions have now ended. the chairman patrick leahyhe ranking republican jeff sessions. they both had their chance and they got into the heart of some of the more controversial aspects of judge sotomayor's record, including that new haven's firefighters case, her comments about a wise latina woman and the second amendment, how far does the second amendment go in allowing folks to have guns. much more of our coverage coming up at cnn.com you can see all these hearings unnrptanted. we'll assess what we just heard with members of the best political team on television, when we come back. yeah, no it's great. i eat anything that i want. key lime pie, pineapple upside down cake, raspberry cheesecake... ... yeah, every night is something different. oh, yeah yeah... ... she always keeps them in the house. no, no, no. i've actually lost weight... i just have a high metabolism or something... ...lucky. babe... umm, i gotta go. (announcer) 28 delicious flavors at around 100 calories each. yoplait, it is so good. . unlock an outdoor dreamland for

mr. chairman. >> thank you. obviously, we talked about your speeches. ultimately determining how do make decisions. megyn: there you here, patrick leahy in the attempted rehabilitation of a cross- examination of judge sonia sotomayor that had some hot fireworks and highlights. no holds barred from jeff sessions, bringing up everything from her wise latina comment, finishing up with skating questions on her decision in the ricci case. the bay as the news made there was what she said about her comments about wise latina. >> absolutely. jeff sessions did a really good job. he basically dusted her up based on her own statements, particularly about wise latina. the statement where she said, obviously, that wise latinas would come to better conclusions than a white man. she glided over it when asked about it by patrick leahy. here she said that she was using a rhetorical flourish that fell flat. it was bad. it is not what i do as a judge. i still do not think that she has dealt with the key issue. she quoted sandra day o'connor as saying that a wise man and a wise woman coming to the same conclusion, but that she was not so sure. then she s

leahy, has moved to a bipartisan approach. we had a confirmation of the attorney general, we repoake th vision a reality. mr. chairman, i come before the committee with no agenda. i have no platform. judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in them or a comment that is made by a colleague during the conference on the case when the judges privately discuss the case. it's been a great honor for me to spend my career in public >> i am starting the right way. thank you very much for inviting us. i want to talk about guantanamo bay. this is very easy for me. my director tells me where to speak and zero where to go. i am thankful for that. in this audience, i believe there are going to be a lot of questions. he tells me where to go, how to do it. thank you very much for inviting us all here. guantanamo is a true joint force. we want to talk a little bit about that. at this moment oone i do not wat to miss anybody. there are five service representatives in our commanding general. there are many other agencies also incorporated there. we are approaching 30 minutes, but i guarantee it will be 2

for the past support of the guard, and i join with senator leahy asking continued support of the national guard by voting for this amendment. mr. president, i thank the chair, and i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. brownback: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending thune amendment and call up my amendment, amendment number 1597. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. brownback: i send the amendment to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kansas, mr. brownback, proposes amendment numbered 1597. mr. brownback: mr. president, i ask further presentation of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brownback: thank you very much, mr. president. mr. president, this is a bipartisan amendment put forward by senator bayh and myself. and i ask unanimous consent that senators kyl and inhofe be allowed to be added as cosponsors to the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brownback: mr. president, this is a bipartisan resoluti

mr. president, i want to begin by thanking the judiciary committee staff, as well as senators leahy and sessions, for conducting a collegial, civil, and dignified hearing on the matter of the supreme court nomination. in my view, the hearing was in perfect keeping with the importance of the task before it. article 2, section 2, of the constitution says that the president shall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the senate judges of the supreme court. it's an obligation that all of us in the senate take very seriously, even though senators haven't always agreed on the exact meaning of the phrase "advise and consent." in fact, it's been the suability o-- it'sbeen the subject of sigt disagreement over the years. i remember from my days as a young staffer on the senate judiciary committee in the late-1960's and early 1970's when this debate flared up over the nominations of clement hainsworth and carlswell after a century in which appointments to the supreme court had more or less than a sleepy presidential prerogative. it was during that time that i first grasped the danger of polit

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator specter. and, judge, we will take a short break and thank you for all this. when we come back, we'll go to recognize senator coburn, who's next. thank you. >> senator patrick leahy, the chairman of the judiciary committee ordering a recess right now, a break, 10 or 15 minutes and thaen they'll resum the questioning with senator ted coburn of oklahoma. we watch sonia sotomayor greet her friends and family members and leave the hearing room for a little while and let's get ready to assess what we just heard and arlen spectser one of the most senior members of this committee, but technically ranks as the second most junior member right now because he switched parties from the republican party to the democratic party and only al franken more junian than him right now. he is spending 20 30 minutes in the first round, 20 minutes in the second round asking those questions. there may be a round of 10 minutes each although patrick leahy would like to eliminate that, if possible. they want to move on and get the outside witnesses to come in who have been asked to testify for and against her confirmation. we're standing by to speak live with senator jeff sessions of alabam

mr. estrada was nominated and they did not even hold a hearing for him. >> i think we are having a good hearing chairman leahy is a good chairman. he is experienced. he does a good job with these matters. it does seem to me that things are developing perhaps as we would expect. there are concerns about the judge's judicial philosophy expressed in the number of speeches. and in some of her cases. her friends and supporters are pointing out that she has been on the bench for a long time, has a great deal of experience, which is correct. they think her record is mainstream. for those of us who are concerned, it is a question of great importance that a judge be absolutely committed to of the nativity. -- to object to the. -- objectiv 80ity. ahoy there may bthere may be fae choose not to see because of their background. that is a fundamental red flag. that is really astounding statements that some of the senators have said. i hope this process will continue to be a good one. this wonderful lady with great experience will be given a fair shake and be able to answer these questions, i hope. i think we will be proud

leahy. i don't know if you noticed but just a couple minutes ago the senator who was asking her questions or who was giving an opening statement is one mrken. there he is. sitting in some new territory certainly as she listens to him. if sotomayor is confirmed, she'd become the country's first hispanic supreme court justice. we are expected to hear from her in her opening statements in about 15 minutes, and when that happens, we'll bring it to you live, but quite a scene there, isn't it? there is senator al franken as he gives his opening statements in the confirmation process here. >>> a heckler had to be removed from the hearing this morning. he screamed, quote, what about the unborn? as he was escorted out. during the episode, leahy issued a stern warning. >> what about the unborn! >> the police will remove that man. let me make very clear there will be no outbursts allowed in this committee either for or against the nominee, either for or against any position that senator sessions or i or any other senator will have. this is a hearing of the united states senate, and we will have order and we will have decorum. there are people who

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator specter, judge, we're going to take a short break and thank you for all of this. when we come back, we'll go to recognized senator coburn who is next. thank you. leahy >> we tried to make it as possible for tv and print and photographers and, your honor, you've been very gracious in  that regard. now i think we'll come in close to the end of this round, whether it will be the last round or not will be up to the republican side. but i would yield now to senator coburn who has been waiting patiently. thank you. >> good morning, again. >> good morning. >> yesterday you -- when i was asking you about foreign law, you said i should read your speech. so i did. i read your speech. i want to come back to that for a minute. i want to ask the same question i asked the only other two supreme court nominees that have come before me on this committee. my first statements was asking about whether you disagreed with alito and thomas and you said basically you agreed. so on the basis of that agreement, will ayou affirm to this committee and the american public, outside where you are directed to do so through statute or treaty refrain from using foreign law in mak

mr. leahy: i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: i ask that joe thomas of the senate judiciary committee be allowed the privileges of the floor throughout the debate on the pending legislation. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: madam president, i'd ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr.ed to: madam president, what is -- mr. dodd: madam president, what is the business before the senate at this moment? the presiding officer: the senate is considering s. 1390. mr. dodd: and that is the defense authorization bill; is that correct? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. dodd: well, madam president, i'd like to spend a couple

mr. kohl: i ask that we dispense with further reading. the leahy amendment 2234. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kohl: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kohl: mr. president, the leahy amendment 2234 has been approved on both sides and i move its adoption. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment is agreed to. mr. kohl: move to reconsider the vote. a senator: move to lay on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kohl: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. kohl: i ask that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kohl: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kohl: i su

the clerk: senators byrd, inouye, leahy, mikulski, murray, landrieu, lautenberg, tester, specter, voinovich, cochran, gregg, shelby, brownback, and murkowski. mrs. murray: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: move to reconsider and lay on the table the last. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate move to morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the tributes to senator in the "congressional record" be printed as a senate document and that senators be permitted to submit statements for inclusion until friday, august 7, 2009. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, friday, july 10. 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 there then be a period of morning business wi