Senate open for business but without legislation or scheduled agenda

The Senate has stood without any pending legislation, concrete plans to take up legislation or scheduled votes regarding legislation since it fell short on a cloture vote on the Small Business Administration (SBA) funding bill Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, the chamber remained largely dormant, with a few senators occasionally coming to the floor to address a pet issue or a matter regarding their home district. 

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), for example, eulogized an influential constituent in a floor-speech Thursday, afternoon. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) expressed his discontent with "progressive" priorities of the federal bureaucracy.

The Senate is scheduled to remain in an open period of business until at least 5 p.m. Thursday. 

The next scheduled action is the weekly judicial confirmation vote early next week.

Some Senate aides say the body might move next week on to a bill by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that would strip oil companies of government subsidies or it could hold votes on the fiscal year 2012 budget.