Pete Domenici: “The majority leader is even wrong in saying this amendment needs 60 votes. It does not need 60 votes, even with a budget…”

“The majority leader is even wrong in saying this amendment needs 60 votes. It does not need 60 votes, even with a budget resolution. It is just an authorization bill. It is implementing what you put in the bill, the $825 million. It is not subject to 60 votes, which means--why not have cloture; they both need 60 votes anyway. That is not so. Our bill does not need 60 votes, nor does Senator Bingaman's amendment need 60 votes. Pure and simple: 51 votes on a bill on which they belong. So why would we, who have struggled with it, vote to kill it? We want it alive. We want it to go to conference with the Senator when we all go to conference.”