The Senate Convenes: 9:30amET

Updates when needed

Breaking News ..  Sen Shelby has decided to cross over and stop the insanity? … no late night for the Senate tonight as the debates possibly some good amendments for Wall Street/Financial Reform will in fact move forward … no more test votes … Democrats get a WIN:  maybe bipartisanship can happen and get the Peoples work done.

Morning Business for 90 minutes with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each and the time equally divided. The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes and the Majority will control the next 30 minutes.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.3217, Wall Street Reform, with the time until 12:20pm equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.Votes:

127: Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S.3217, Wall Street Reform;
Not Invoked: 56-42.

Unanimous Consent:
Passed HR5246, an Act to prohibit a cost of living adjustment for Members of Congress in Fiscal Year 2011.

Passed HR5147, Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010 (extends all FAA programs to July 3, 2010).

Adopted S.Res.504, a resolution expressing the condolences of the Senate to those affected by the tragic events following the tornado that hit central Mississippi on April 24, 2010.

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CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS
LEGISLATIVE DAY OF APRIL 28, 2010
111TH CONGRESS – SECOND SESSION

7:14 P.M. –

The House adjourned. The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on April 29, 2010. On motion to adjourn Agreed to by voice vote.

Mr. King (IA) moved that the House do now adjourn.

6:24 P.M. –

SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House resumed Special Order speeches.

6:23 P.M. –

Mr. Arcuri filed a report from the Committee on Rules on H. Res. 1305.

3:52 P.M. –

SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

3:51 P.M. –

Mr. Poe of TX requested the following general leaves to address the House on May 5: Mr. Moran of KS for 5 min, himself for 5 min, and Mr. Jones for 5 min.

3:44 P.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded further with one minute speeches.

H.R. 5013:

to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for performance management of the defense acquisition system, and for other purposes

3:41 P.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. On passage Passed by recorded vote: 417 – 3 (Roll no. 230).

3:34 P.M. –

On agreeing to the Skelton amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

3:33 P.M. –

Amendment offered by Mr. Skelton. On motion to recommit with instructions Agreed to by recorded vote: 419 – 1 (Roll no. 229).

3:13 P.M. –

The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection.

3:03 P.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Buyer motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment inserting a new section pertaining to the disclosure and traceability of the cost of Department of Defense health care contracts.

3:00 P.M. –

Mr. Buyer moved to recommit with instructions to Armed Services.

2:59 P.M. –

The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

2:58 P.M. –

The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule. The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 5013.

On agreeing to the Connolly (VA) amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 417 – 2 (Roll no. 228).

2:48 P.M. –

On agreeing to the Hall (NY) amendment Agreed to by recorded vote: 416 – 0 (Roll no. 227).

2:19 P.M. –

On agreeing to the Hare amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

2:13 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Hare amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Hare.

An amendment numbered 16 printed in House Report 11-467 to declare that it is the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense should ensure full compliance throughout the acquisition process with the Berry Amendment and the Buy American Act. Further, the amendment declares the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense not procure products made by manufacturers in the United States that violate labor standards as defined under the laws of the United States.

On agreeing to the Grayson amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

2:03 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Grayson amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Grayson.

An amendment numbered 15 printed in House Report 111-467 to require DOD to give cost at least equal importance in evaluating competitive proposals for Federal contracts versus other factors or explain any waivers of such requirement.

2:02 P.M. –

On agreeing to the Kissell amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:56 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Kissell amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Kissell.

An amendment numbered 14 printed in House Report 111-467 to require GAO to do a study of the items purchased under 37 U.S.C. section 418, and determine if there is sufficient domestic production of such items to adequately supply members of the Armed Forces. Would then require DOD to provide to the House Armed Services Committee, within 6 months of receiving the GAO recommendations, an evaluation of whether items purchased under section 418 of title 37 should be covered under the Berry Amendment.

On agreeing to the Dahlkemper amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:52 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Dahlkemper amendment. Amendment offered by Mrs. Dahlkemper.

An amendment numbered 13 printed in House Report 111-467 to direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program providing for cost savings on non-developmental items by allowing a contracting officer to make an award for an existing contract to an entity submitting a new proposal that provides for a savings of greater than 15%, provided that doing so does not constitute a breach of contract.

On agreeing to the Childers amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:47 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Childers amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Childers.

An amendment numbered 12 printed in House Report 111-467 to ensure that training courses for acquisition personnel include market research strategies to ensure that the surrounding market is considered during the contracting process.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Connolly (VA) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Connolly (VA) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until later in the legislative day.

1:38 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Connolly (VA) amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Connolly (VA).

An amendment numbered 11 printed in House Report 111-467 to create an Industrial Base Council within the DOD, supported by existing personnel and funds, to provide recommendations to the Secretary on budget and policy matters related to the industrial base. Would require an annual report to Congress on the Council’s activities.

On agreeing to the Schrader amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:33 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Schrader amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Schrader.

An amendment numbered 10 printed in House Report 111-467 to prohibit the award of contracts for personal services by any DOD component for the purpose of obtaining the services of a senior mentor. Nothing would prohibit DOD from hiring retired generals and flag officers as `senior mentors’ under the highly qualified expert provision of 5 U.S.C. section 9903 with additional financial disclosure and conflict of interest requirements in place.

On agreeing to the Quigley amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:27 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Quigley amendment number 9. Amendment offered by Mr. Quigley.

An amendment numbered 9 printed in House Report 111-467 to direct the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) in its next report to Congress to (1) assess whether and to what extent program cost estimators for major defense acquisition programs are independent and (2) whether a lack of independence affects their ability to generate reliable cost estimates.

On agreeing to the Quigley amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:20 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Quigley amendment number 8. Amendment offered by Mr. Quigley.

An amendment numbered 8 printed in House Report 111-647 to include energy efficiency as one of the metrics that may be used in performance assessment of defense acquisitions, and would include energy efficiency of weapons systems as one of the items considered in the Secretary of Defense’s review of defense acquisition guidance.

On agreeing to the Murphy (CT) amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:14 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Murphy (CT) amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Murphy (CT).

An amendment numbered 7 printed in House Report 111-467 to specify that Title IV assistance in the legislation (Expansion of the Industrial Base) be limited to firms within the national technology and industrial base, as defined in section 2500(1) of title 10, United States Code.

On agreeing to the Moore (WI) amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:07 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Moore (WI) amendment. Amendment offered by Ms. Moore (WI).

An amendment numbered 6 printed in House Report 111-467 to specify that assessment metrics required to measure contractor performance include “compliance of such contractors with department policy regarding the use of certain small businesses.”

On agreeing to the Edwards (MD) amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

1:00 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Edewards (MD) amendment. Amendment offered by Ms. Edwards (MD).

An amendment numbered 5 printed in House Report 111-467 to direct the DOD to engage in outreach to businesses in the vicinity of DOD installations to notify them of opportunities to obtain contracts and subcontracts to perform work at such installations.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Hall (NY) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Hall (NY) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until later in the legislative day.

12:53 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Hall (NY) amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Hall (NY).

An amendment numbered 4 printed in House Report 111-467 to require the Director of the Office of Performance Assessment and Root Cause Analysis (“PARCA”) to include performance assessments with significant findings in its annual report. It also requires submission of egregious problems (as defined by the PARCA Director) to the Armed Services Committees

On agreeing to the Andrews amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

12:51 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Andrews amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Andrews.

An amendment numbered 3 printed in House Report 111-467 to support a diverse workforce development program with respect to career development for civilian and military personnel in the acquisition workforce.

12:50 P.M. –

On agreeing to the Sessions amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

12:46 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Sessions amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Sessions.

An amendment numbered 2 printed in House Report 111-467 to provide that nothing in the Act or amendments made by it shall be construed to affect the competition requirements of 10 U.S.C. 2304 (contract competition requirements).

12:45 P.M. –

On agreeing to the Skelton amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

12:40 P.M. –

DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1300, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Skelton amendment. Amendment offered by Mr. Skelton.

An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 111-467 to make various technical corrections to the bill. It also would provide that nothing in contracts for military purpose non-developmental items shall restrict or otherwise affect the rights in technical data of the Government, the contractor, or any subcontractor for items developed by the contractor or subcontractor exclusively at private expense.

11:48 A.M. –

GENERAL DEBATE – The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 5013. The Speaker designated the Honorable Ron Kind to act as Chairman of the Committee.

House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 1300 and Rule XVIII.

Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 5013 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order. The resolution provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Armed Services shall be considered as an original bill. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI.

Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 1300.

H. Res. 1300:

providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 5013) to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for performance management of the defense acquisition system, and for other purposes

11:42 A.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

The previous question was ordered without objection.

11:20 A.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 1300 Considered as privileged matter.

H.R. 5147:

to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend authorizations for the airport improvement program, and for other purposes

11:19 A.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

11:06 A.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5147. Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Costello moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

H. Con. Res. 264:

authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service

11:05 A.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

11:01 A.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Con. Res. 264. Considered under suspension of the rules.

11:00 A.M. –

Mr. Costello moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

H.R. 5148:

to amend title 39, United States Code, to clarify the instances in which the term “census” may appear on mailable matter

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

10:42 A.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5148. Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Towns moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.

H.R. 3393:

to amend the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) in order to prevent the loss of billions in taxpayer dollars

10:41 A.M. –

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

10:23 A.M. –

DEBATE – The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3393. Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Towns moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

10:22 A.M. –

The Speaker announced that votes on suspensions, if ordered, will be postponed until later in the legislative day.

10:03 A.M. –

ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches which by direction of the Chair, would be limited to 15 per side of the aisle.