Departments of Labor, Health and Human Servies, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006--Continued

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006--Continued

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Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I know the chairman is eager to make further progress on the underlying bill, and therefore we will be brief.

A number of Senators have come to the floor over the course of today to express their thoughts or feelings or emotions or sympathies for the families of the over 2,000 military dead in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

At this point, I ask the Senate now proceed to a moment of silence in honor of our fallen soldiers.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will now proceed to a moment of silence in honor of our fallen soldiers.

(Moment of silence.)

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today U.S. military deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom surpassed 2,000. These brave men and women in uniform sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom and for the security of their fellow Americans. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude for their courage, for their valor, for their strength, for their commitment to our country. They heard the call of duty and they took the fight to the enemy so that the enemy would not strike us here at home. These brave men and women join a pantheon of heroes who have fought and died over the years for our country.

Because of their determination, Saddam Hussein now faces a trial for his life; because of their resolve, the Iraqi people are exercising their right to self-rule. And today, because of their bravery, today Iraq has a new constitution, a historic milestone on the march toward freedom and the fight against terror.

Our hearts do go out to all the families who have lost loved ones on the battlefield as well as the thousands of men and women who have been injured. Their valor, their courage are a shining example to all. We owe them our deepest respect. We offer our continued support and our continued prayers. We pledge to stand firm in the war on terror. We will accomplish the mission to secure a free and prosperous Iraq and, in turn, secure the freedom and safety of America.

We will persevere and we will win--for our heroes in uniform; for the United States of America.

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CLOTURE MOTION

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we have been moving forward with the underlying bill, and Chairman Specter has indicated that he has a lineup of amendments ready for tomorrow. I know that tomorrow will be a busy day with votes in relation to those amendments. We need this final appropriations bill this week, as I have said again and again--this week and last week--and, therefore, in order to facilitate passage, I now send a cloture motion to the desk.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

Cloture Motion

We the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on H.R. 3010: The Labor-HHS appropriations bill.
Bill Frist, Arlen Specter, Thad Cochran, Michael Enzi, Wayne Allard, Jon Kyl, Rick Santorum, Richard Lugar, Mike DeWine, Craig Thomas, Mel Martinez, Sam Brownback, Kay Bailey Hutchison, John Thune, Orrin Hatch, Robert Bennett, Mike Crapo.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. FRIST. This cloture vote will occur Thursday morning. We will announce the exact time sometime during tomorrow's session, hopefully Thursday morning.

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