9:30 a.m.
Morning Business, with the first 30 minutes under Republican control and the second 30 minutes under Majority control, and Senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each
12:30 p.m.
Recess until 3:30 p.m. for a Democratic caucus meeting
Pending:
The Senate will next convene at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, December 1 after standing in adjournment at 8:53 p.m. Tuesday, November 30.
At 9:30 a.m., the Senate will be in Morning Business, with the first 30 minutes under Republican control and the second 30 minutes under Majority control, and Senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each.
Roll call VOTES are possible on Wednesday.
Tuesday, November 30’s Business:
During Tuesday’s session of the Senate, three roll call votes were conducted.
Not Agreed to, 39-56 (67 votes required):
Motion to suspend Rule XXII for consideration of Coburn amendment #4697 to S. 510, the Food Safety bill. The amendment would establish a point of order against any bill, joint resolution, floor amendment, amendment between Houses, or conference report that includes “any earmark, limited tax benefit or limited tariff benefit.” An earmark is defined to be “a provision or report language included primarily at the request of a Senator or Member of the House of Representatives providing, authorizing, or recommending a specific amount of discretionary budget authority, credit authority, or other spending authority for a contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific State, locality or Congressional district, other than through a statutory or administrative formula-driven or competitive award process.” The point of order would lie against fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013;
Not Agreed to, 36-62 (67 votes required):
Motion to suspend Rule XXII for consideration of Coburn substitute amendment #4696 to S. 510. The amendment would: (1) require HHS and the Department of Agriculture to “establish a plan to ensure effective information sharing” between the two agencies regarding food safety and inspection; (2) require HHS to submit a report to Congress within one year regarding “a strategic plan on information technology” for food safety data collection and electronic recall records, as well as recommendations for a “more expeditious process for approving new technologies” to improve food safety; (3) grant FDA authority to inspect records regarding articles of food “related to” an emergency that “presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death”; (4) provide for biennial registration of facilities with the FDA; (5) permit FDA to issue requirements to reduce hazards in high-risk foods; (6) require FDA to make “a careful examination of the effect on small businesses” and include exemptions “for firms that will be adversely impacted” by the requirements; (7) allow FDA to issue export certificates and charge a fee of up to $175 for such certification, with such fees to cover salaries and expenses of FDA employees; (8) require FDA to accredit independent third party entities to inspect domestic and foreign facilities to ensure compliance with federal requirements; (9) require such third parties to submit inspection reports to FDA within 10 days of inspection; conditions “that could cause or contribute to an unreasonable risk to the public health” require immediate FDA notification; (10) require FDA to consider inspections performed by accredited third parties when establishing inspection schedules for FDA employees; (11) provide that food imports coming from international facilities successfully inspected by accredited third parties “shall not be detained or refused admission but shall receive permission for expedited entry”; (12) require FDA to participate in frequent meetings with foreign governments to discuss regulatory harmonization; and (13) clarify that provisions of the legislation should not be construed as violating World Trade Organization standards or other international obligations of the United States; and
Passed, 73-25:
S. 510, as amended, the Food Safety bill.
1 Amendment to S. 510 Agreed to by Unanimous Consent
Reid (for Harkin) substitute amendment #4715
6 Items Passed by Unanimous Consent
S. 3386, as amended, to protect consumers from certain aggressive sales tactics on the Internet;
S. 3987, to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act with respect to applicability of identity theft guidelines to creditors;
S. Res. 690, commemorating the 175th anniversary of the birth of Mark Twain;
S. Res. 691, to permit the collection of clothing, toys, food and housewares during the holiday season for charitable purposes in Senate buildings;
S. 6162, to provide research and development authority for alternative coinage materials to the Secretary of the Treasury, increase congressional oversight over coin production, and ensure the continuity of certain numismatic items; and
H.R. 6166, to authorize the production of palladium bullion coins to provide affordable opportunities for investments in precious metals, and for other purposes.