Agreement on HR 240, DHS/ Cloture filed on Collins immigration bill--series of votes at approx. 10:10am tomorrow

All post-cloture debate time was been yielded back and the Senate agreed to the motion to proceed to H.R.240, DHS appropriations, by voice vote. Senator McConnell then offered Cochran amendment #255 (clean DHS funding), filled the amendment tree with technical amendments, and filed cloture on the underlying bill. He then moved to proceed to S.534 (Collins immigration bill) and filed cloture on the motion. We then reached an agreement that results in a series of votes that begin at approximately 10:00am tomorrow, Friday, February 27. Senator Lee may move to table one of the tree filler amendments in an effort for him to offer an additional amendment. If he makes a motion to table, that would be the first vote in the vote series.

Approx 10:00am on Friday, February 27-up to 5 roll call votes:

1. Cloture on H.R.240, DHS appropriations

--10 minutes of debate for Lee

2. Possible Lee motion to table one of the tree filler amendments
3. Adoption of  Cochran-Mikulski-Shaheen amendment #255 (clean DHS funding)
4. Passage of H.R.240, Department of Homeland Security appropriations

--2 minutes for debate equally divided--

5. Cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 534, a bill to prohibit funds from being used to carry out certain Executive actions related to immigration and for other purposes.

The agreement is as follows:

I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding Rule 22, at 10am on Friday, February 27, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on H.R.240, that if cloture is invoked, all post-cloture time be considered expired with the exception of 10 minutes for Senator Lee or his designee, and that following the use or yielding back of time the pending amendments with the exception of amendment #255; I further ask that the bill, as amended, if amended, then be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage; and that there then be 2 minutes for debate equally divided before the Senate votes on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.534.