The Senate convened at 10:00 AM with Leader Remarks. The Senate then resumed consideration of the Motion to Proceed to S. 1845 (Unemployment Compensation Insurance Extension). At 10:45 AM, the Senate voted on Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 1845 (Unemployment Compensation Insurance Extension). The cloture motion on the Motion to Proceed was agreed to by a vote of 60-37.

The Senate recessed from 12:30 to 2:15 PM for the weekly party caucus lunches. When the Senate convened at 2:15 they resumed Motion to Proceed to S. 1845 (Unemployment Compensation Insurance Extension).

The following Senators spoke today on the Motion to Proceed to S. 1845 (Unemployment Compensation Insurance Extension):

Durbin, Reed, Schumer, Boxer, Merkley, Murray, Leahy, Cornyn, Portman, Klobuchar, Barrasso, Ayotte, Coats, Warren, Shelby, Whitehouse, Sessions, Reed

6:20 PM

The Senate confirmed Janet Yellen to be Chair of the Federal Reserve by a vote of 56-26.   The cloture vote on the MTP to S. 1845,  Unemployment Extension until 10AM January 7th.

9:00

The Senate will convene at 2 p.m.

Following leaders’ remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1845, the bill to extend unemployment insurance.

At 3 p.m., the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Executive Calendar #452, the nomination of Janet Yellen of California to be chairman of the Federal Reserve.

At 5:30 p.m., there will be two roll call votes:

— Confirmation of the Yellen nomination (simple majority)

— Cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 1845, the Unemployment Extension Act (60 votes).

The Senate stands adjourned.  Pro forma sessions have been scheduled and will take place if the Senate does not receive a message that the House has adopted S. Con Res 30, the adjournment resolution.  If the House does adopt the adjournment resolution, the Senate will convene at 11:45 am Friday January 3 for a pro forma session.

If the Senate does not receive an adjournment resolution message from the House, the Senate will meet for pro forma sessions at the following times:

Tuesday, December 24, 2013 at 12:00 noon

Friday, December 27, 2013 at 12:00 noon

Tuesday, December 31, 2013 at 12:00 noon

Friday, January 3, 2013 at 12:00 noon.

The next Senate roll call vote is scheduled for Monday, January 6 at 5:30 pm.

On Friday, December 20, 2013

The Senate will convene at 9 a.m. There will be one hour of debate on the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

At about 10 a.m. this series of roll call votes will begin:

— Confirmation of the Mayorkas nomination;

— Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #459, John Koskinen, of the District of Columbia, to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue;

— Confirmation of the Koskinen nomination;

— Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #382, Brian Davis, to the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida;

—  Confirmation of the Davis nomination and

— Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #452, Janet Yellen, of California, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

If cloture is invoked, Yellen’s confirmation vote is to be held on Monday, January 6.

On Thursday night, the majority leader withdrew cloture motions on the following nominations:

• Sloan D. Gibson to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

• Sarah Sewall to be an Under Secretary of State (Civility Security, Democracy, and Human Rights).

• Michael L. Connor to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

• Sarah Bloom Raskin to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.

• Jessica Garfola Wright to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

• Richard Engler to be a Member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

The Senate will convene at 10 a.m.

After leaders’ remarks, the Senate will resume post-cloture consideration of the motion to concur in the House message to accompany the budget resolution (H.J. Res. 59).

If all post-cloture time is used, the Senate will proceed to these roll-call votes at about 4:30 p.m.:

— Motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the budget resolution;

— Cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the 2014 defense authorization  H.R. 3304.

Cloture has been filed on the nominations listed below.

(The hours for post-cloture debate are listed for each. Democrats can yield half of this time on their own, except in the case of the Yellen nomination, which would require unanimous consent for any such limitation. Cloture votes could occur after the vote on final passage of the defense bill.)

• Executive Calendar #456, Alejandro Mayorkas, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #459, John Andrew Koskinen, of the District of Columbia, to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #382, Brian J. Davis, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the District of Florida (2 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #452, Janet L. Yellen, of Callifornia, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (30 hours).
• Executive Calendar #455, Sloan D. Gibson, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #445, Sarah Sewall, of Massachusetts, to be an Under Secretary of State (Civility Security, Democracy, and Human Rights) (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #371, Michael L. Connor, of New Mexico, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #457, Sarah Bloom Raskin, of Maryland, to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #356, Jessica Garfola Wright, of Pennsylvania, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #189, Richard Engler, of New Jersey, to be a Member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (8 hours equally divided).

In addition, the majority leader may call when he chooses for reconsideration of  cloture on the nomination of Robert Leon Wilkins to the U.S. Circuit Court for the D.C. Circuit (Executive Calendar #381).

The Senate will convene at 9 a.m.

At 10 a.m. the Senate will vote on cloture on the motion to concur with the budget resolution (H.J. Res. 59). If cloture is invoked, it will take a unanimous consent agreement to yield back any of the 30 hours of post-cloture debate on the budget.

The Senate will recess for policy luncheons at 12:30 p.m., if there is an agreement that the post-cloture clock will continue to tick.

A cloture vote on the 2014 defense authorization (H.R. 3304) will not occur until after the vote on final passage of the budget.  Unanimous consent would again be needed to reduce the 30-hour duration of post-cloture debate on the defense bill.

Cloture was filed Monday on the 10 nominations below. (The hours for post-cloture debate are listed for each. Democrats can yield half of this time on their own, except in the case of the Yellen nomination, which would require unanimous consent for any such limitation. Cloture votes could occur after the vote on final passage of the defense bill.)

• Executive Calendar #456, Alejandro Mayorkas, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #459, John Andrew Koskinen, of the District of Columbia, to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #382, Brian J. Davis, of Florida, to be United States District Judge for the District of Florida (2 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #452, Janet L. Yellen, of Callifornia, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (30 hours).
• Executive Calendar #455, Sloan D. Gibson, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #445, Sarah Sewall, of Massachusetts, to be an Under Secretary of State (Civility Security, Democracy, and Human Rights) (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #371, Michael L. Connor, of New Mexico, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #457, Sarah Bloom Raskin, of Maryland, to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #356, Jessica Garfola Wright, of Pennsylvania, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (8 hours equally divided).
• Executive Calendar #189, Richard Engler, of New Jersey, to be a Member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (8 hours equally divided).

In addition, the majority leader may call when he chooses for reconsideration of  cloture on the nomination of Robert Leon Wilkins to the U.S. Circuit Court for the D.C. Circuit (Executive Calendar #381)

10 AM — Cloture was invoked for the budget on a vote of 67 to 33.

5:25 PM — On a vote of 46 to 54, a Sessions motion failed to table the Reid amendment (#2547) that changed the enactment date of the budget measure.

The Senate will convene at 3 p.m.

The filing deadline is 4 p.m. for first-degree amendments to the motion to concur with the Budget Resolution (H.J. Res. 59) and the defense authorization will (H.R. 3304).

Following leaders’ remarks, the Senate will be in Morning Business until 5:30 p.m., whereupon these roll call votes will occur:

— Executive Calendar #406, confirmation of Anne W. Patterson of Virginia to be assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs;

— The motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #450, the nomination of Jeh Charles Johnson of New Jersey to be secretary of Homeland Security; and if cloture is invoked,

— Confirmation of the Johnson nomination.

The majority leader may file cloture motions Monday on more nominations, including Janet Yellen to be chair of the Federal Reserve and U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Wilkins of the District of Columbia to the D.C. Circuit Court. More procedural votes are therefore possible on Monday.

Cloture motions were filed Saturday on motions pertaining to the budget resolution and the defense authorization, so cloture votes are expected to begin on those measures on Tuesday, December 17.

Votes on the budget are expected Tuesday.

Votes are expected on the defense authorization upon completion of the budget measure.

5:24 PM — Patterson nomination was confirmed by a vote of 78 to 16.

5:54 PM — Cloture was invoked on the Johnson nomination by a vote of 57 to 37.

6:20 p.m. — Johnson nomination was confirmed by a vote of 78 to 16.

Before adjournment, the majority leader filed cloture on 10 nominations. Cloture votes could occur after final passage votes on the 2014 budget resolution and the 2014 defense authorization.

The Senate will convene at 2 p.m.   The pending legislative business is S. 1197, the 2014 defense authorization bill.

After leaders’ remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of Executive Calendar #346, the nomination of Cornelia T. L. Pillard to be a United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit. (If all post-cloture time is used, the confirmation vote would occur at about 1 a.m. on Thursday.)

Cloture votes could occur Wednesday on any of the following nominations:

• Chai Rachel Feldblum to be a Member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  This nomination is subject to up to 8 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided. 
• Elizabeth A. Wolford to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of New York.  This nomination is subject to up to 2 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided.
• Landya B. McCafferty to be a United States District Judge for the District of New Hampshire.  This nomination is subject to up to 2 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided.
• Patricia M. Wald to be a Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.  This nomination is subject to up to 8 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided.
• Brian Morris to be a United States District Judge for the District of Montana.  This nomination is subject to up to 2 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided.
• Susan P. Watters to be a United States District Judge for the District of Montana.  This nomination is subject to up to 2 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided.
• Deborah Lee James to be Secretary of the Air Force.  This nomination is subject to up to 8 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided.
• Heather Anne Higginbottom to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.  This nomination is subject to up to 8 hours of post-cloture debate, equally divided. 

The Senate will convene at 10 a.m.

Following leaders’ remarks, the Senate will go into executive session to resume consideration of Executive calendar #327, the nomination of Patricia Ann Millett of Virginia to be a United States Circuit Court judge for the D.C. Circuit, proceeding immediately to a roll-call vote on confirmation.

The Senate will then proceed to as many as three more roll call votes on:

—  A motion to proceed to Executive Session for the reconsideration of the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the Watt nomination;

—  A motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the Watt nomination; and

—  A motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Mel Watt, to be Director of Federal Housing Finance Agency, upon reconsideration.

If cloture is invoked on Watt there will be up to 8 hours of debate followed by a final confirmation vote.

The Senate will convene at 2 p.m. Following leaders’ remarks, the Senate will be in Morning Business until 4 p.m.

At 4 p.m., the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1197, the Defense Authorization in order to permit an update on the status of the bill. On Nov. 21, cloture was not invoked and a motion to reconsider was made. The amendment tree is filled.

At 5 p.m., the Senate will resume consideration of Executive Calendar #327,  the nomination of Patricia Ann Millett of Virginia to be a U.S. Circuit Court judge for the D.C. Circuit. There will be a confirmation vote at 5:30 p.m. (vote postponed).

6:00 pm:

Senate passed HR 3626 by Unanimous Consent.  No roll calls votes during today’s session. Senate will vote on the Millett nomination following leader remarks during tomorrow’s session.

The Senate is in adjournment until Monday, Dec. 9, 2013.