Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) joined a bipartisan group of other senators in urging passage of legislation to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (S. 1200)
[From the Congressional Record for Thursday, February 7, 2008. Page S 774. Read the original.
Mr. REID:
Well, now, Mr. President, we lost one of them, so we are now down to two roll call votes and two that can be accepted by voice. So we are two steps forward and one back. So the answer is: Yes, we will have two votes that will be recorded. We should be able to start those in a few minutes.
Mr. DORGAN:
Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?
Mr. REID:
I would be happy to yield.
Mr. DORGAN:
Mr. President, I think most Senators will feel good about the significant progress on FISA, and hopefully we will get that completed.
Senator Thune and I were speaking a moment ago about the other piece of legislation we hope we might finish, when FISA is completed next Tuesday or Wednesday, and that is the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which we started on the floor of the Senate.
I would ask the Senator: Might we expect to be able to bring that up for a day? We believe we can finish that in a day next week.
Mr. REID:
I say to my friend: Is there anything that can be done on that tomorrow or Monday? Has the debate on all the amendments been completed?
Mr. DORGAN:
Mr. President, I believe we have worked through most all areas of controversy, where we are waiting on some amendments that I believe Senator Coburn wishes some votes on. But I think we have made a lot of progress on both sides of the aisle to resolve items of controversy. I think if we could get it on the floor for 1 day, we can finish it. And, frankly, there is some urgency to Indian health care issues. As I said, Senators Murkowski, Thune, and others join me in hoping we can include that next week to be completed on the floor of the Senate.
Mr. REID:
I ask my friend, the Senator from North Dakota: Is there a way we could have a consent agreement that would give us specific time for any amendments and votes on amendments, and after they are all done, final passage?
Mr. DORGAN:
Mr. President, I have been working with Senator Kyl and others to try to see if we can reach an agreement on any amendments. I believe there will be very few votes required. I think Senator Coburn has some that may require a couple of votes, but by and large I think we have worked through most of the issues. Senator Kyl and Senator Thune, on that side of the aisle, have been working with me.
But I would very much like to get whatever list or whatever time agreements we need so that we can bring that up. We really do need to finish that next week, following the disposition of FISA, if it is possible.
Mr. REID:
I ask my good friend, during those two votes we are going to have in a short time, if we can go to work to see if we could have a specific numbers of amendments, how much time is left on them, we will complete it to final passage.
Mr. KYL:
Mr. President, I have been working with the Senator from North Dakota. While we have not surveyed all of the Members on this side, I believe the issues are well known to us; they have surfaced. The three key issues have mostly been worked through, as I understand, and I believe Senator Coburn is willing to put a time agreement on the amendments he has. All of which is to say that I believe, unless there are some votes on our side that have not come forward--and we will certainly inquire--it should be possible to get a time agreement with specific amendments that is not very long and that would result in the bill being concluded in a relatively short time. But we do need to survey the rest of our Members.
Mr. THUNE:
Mr. President, I would just echo what my colleague from North Dakota said and would agree that now we will have dealt with FISA and the economic stimulus bill, which I know are matters of great importance and urgency--this is a matter of great urgency to the people we represent. It is long overdue that we get this done. So I will do everything I can on our side to make it possible for us to limit any further amendments or anything that might further delay moving to a final vote.
I appreciate the leader's indulgence, along with my colleague from North Dakota, and would simply ask that when we complete action on this, we move to this bill.
Mr. REID:
If I can respond to my three colleagues, originally we thought this bill would take 1 day, and we know it has been bifurcated because of other issues. But I would really think that before we spend another few days on this, we have to do everything we can to see if we can come up with a time agreement to give us a way to get to the end so we can have final passage.
We do not need to speak, as I have, about the drastic needs in Indian territory. We need to do this. So I hope that--my friends, this is certainly a bipartisan piece of legislation--we can work out some time agreements, and part of that will be final passage.
Mr. KYL:
I do not know of any reason that cannot be done. There is certainly no intention on our side to take a long time or slow it down. I think the Senator from North Dakota would verify that I have worked to try to resolve issues that are outstanding. It is my belief that this can be done within a time period that is acceptable to the majority.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Pryor.):
The majority leader has a unanimous consent request pending. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.
