James M. Jeffords: “there are many people to thank in what has been a long 3-year process. First, Chairman Inhofe. It has been an honor and…”

“there are many people to thank in what has been a long 3-year process. First, Chairman Inhofe. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the Senator from Oklahoma. He has always been fair and considerate, and I enjoy our friendship. We have a couple weeks, possibly months, more to go to get this bill done. I look forward to working with him. Senator Bond also has been wonderful to work with. He brings spirit, enthusiasm to all his work, and a lot of humor, and I appreciate our close working relationship. He is a good friend. Senator Baucus, my colleague on this side, is a very close friend and has been a great addition to the team and this process. The Senator from Montana is a true legislator. He knows how to get things done. Without him, I don't think we would be as far as we are here today. It is an honor to work with such an intelligent and fair-minded Senator. There are many staff to acknowledge, also. I have always told my staff director, Ken Connolly, that in order to succeed in his job, he needed to hire a strong team and to hire staff smarter than me and him. Well, in this case, it wasn't difficult. Anyway, let me run through a few staff members who have helped the cause of moving this bill.…”