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Senate Expected to Clear Border Bill on Thursday

The Senate on Thursday will briefly reconvene to pass a $600 million border security bill and a resolution honoring the life of the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who died this week in a plane crash.

According to Democratic aides, the Senate will reconvene at 10 a.m. Thursday for a brief session, with Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) in attendance. Schumer would then ask for unanimous consent to pass the border bill, as well as the Stevens resolution.

It is unclear which, if any, of the chamber’s 41 Republicans will be in attendance; the unanimous consent agreement has been cleared by members of both parties, making the presence of a Republican unnecessary.

It is unclear whether any lawmakers will use Thursday’s brief session as an opportunity to pay tribute to Stevens on the floor.

The border bill is identical to Schumer’s bill that was passed by unanimous consent late last week.

However, the House on Tuesday forced the Senate to reconvene after leaders, citing the Constitution’s requirement that spending measures originate in the House, passed an identical bill and sent it back to the Senate for passage.

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