This vote dealt with a bill to enact recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that were not acted upon by the 109th Congress. Specifically at issue were the criminal offenses that would disqualify individuals from receiving security credentials to work at the country's seaports. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) had proposed and the Senate had previously adopted an amendment to the bill that would disqualify those convicted of spying, murder, treason, terrorism, illegal possession or sale of explosives, or a crime involving transportation security from getting the credentials necessary to work at a port. The restriction also included individuals convicted within the past seven years of less serious crimes, including identify fraud, firearms offenses or immigration violations. Democrats expressed reservations that these qualifications would be too restrictive. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) authored what's known as a secondary amendment to DeMint's measure. A secondary or second-degree amendment is an amendment to an amendment. In this case, Inouye proposed allowing the Homeland Security Department, at its discretion, to edit the list of crimes that would bar individuals from working at a port. Inouye's secondary amendment was approved over DeMint's ardent objections. "We want people to have a second chance but we don't get a second chance if a bomb comes in [to a port]," DeMint said after the vote. By a vote of 58 to 37, including 10 Republicans voting "aye," the Senate voted to allow the Homeland Security Department to determine which offenses would bar people from getting security credentials to work at the nation's ports. The bill implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission thus moved forward with flexibility for the department to determine which crimes would disqualify an individual from receiving a transportation security badge.