Senate reschedules for Helms funeral

The Senate is shuffling its schedule to allow lawmakers to attend Tuesday's funeral for Jesse Helms.

The 86-year-old former North Carolina senator died last week at the age of 86. Tuesday afternoon's funeral will be held at the Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C.

{mosads}Senate Republicans will push back their weekly policy lunch, usually held on Tuesday, to Wednesday afternoon. The Senate had planned on holding several votes Tuesday on an overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), but those will now occur Wednesday. Democrats still plan to hold their policy lunch Tuesday, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday.

Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both paid tribute to Helms, who served five terms in the Senate and helped set the agenda for the conservative wing of the Republican Party.