Better viewed as a time filler. The alternative to debate and decision making. Most of the time filling is done with zero or few senators on the floor, but I have seen “Is a quorum present?” asked when all 100 Senators just finished a roll call vote. Filling time “on the Record Book” so they can negotiate “off the record book.” Those “chamber full” quorum calls are usually brief – a couple minutes at most.

I like the 2/3rds of the Senate ratifying treaties, when the reality is that only 2 Senators are in the chamber, and one of those two is presiding. “All in favor rise” “All opposed rise” — the two who are present usually giggle at the fiction, but dutifully go through the sit/stand formality.

At 1:00 p.m., Senator Reid filed a cloture motion to limit debate on S.2248. Then he ran through a few items of legislative minutia, including reading for the first time a bill to again extend the PAA by 15 days. That (S.2615) is insurance of a sort. I think there are about 4 or 5 bills that extend the PAA by various time periods.

Then at 1:05 he adjourned the Senate until 2:00 p.m. Monday.

The general purpose of quorum call is to make sure a quorum is present. The Senate is an odd legislative body, it likes to create a fiction in the written Record that it is working in the chamber, and that the laws it passes are done with a quorum of Senators present. The reality is they do 99% of their work behind the scenes, and most of the chamber time is done with fewer than 10 Senators present.

At any rate, under normal procedure, a legislative body has to be doing SOMETHING while it is (supposedly) in the chamber, and the only thing it can do when none of its members are presents is have the clerk ascertain the presence of a quorum. All the other stuff that comprises action while in session (motions, debate, voting) requires participation by a senator.

I know quorum calls “I suggest the absense of a quorum” are usually done to delay to give some time to work out logistics, strategy, or to allow time to get a Senator to the floor. Is there any other purpose for them, I’m missing, and if they are simply a delaying tactic, is that why they are often terminated suddenly?

I figure the Senate will adjourn before 3 p.m. Noonish adjournment is typical on Fridays. They have all day Monday to burn up remaining debate time, and Reid announced a “use it or lose it” policy. I also figure there is no concern about losing the debate time under FISA, especially since the more strenuous objectors have time on Tuesday, after the cloture vote, when the viewing audience will be larger.

Given the cost of Dell monitors these days, I can’t do that anymore.

i’m going to follow RevDeb’s lead and resort to some chocolate today. elliot recommended these cookies.

I have asked Senator Rockefeller to have a pretty good idea of what will be in the final package as it comes out here. So I think it would be to everyone’s benefit that he and Senator Leahy, Senator Bond, and Senator Specter work with their House
counterparts to see if they can work on a package to bring back to us.

That’ll be “the manager’s amendment” – negotiated very much out of public view.

Situation normal.

It’s possible to whip up some tension and drama for the Tuesday votes, but I think all the votes (by the Senators) are settled. Actually, I think the positions were settled by about July last year.

When it comes to keeping a tight reign/rein on the people, Congress and the Executive are two peas in the same pod.