Trent Lott: “I offered to have a period for the transaction of morning business with Senators to talk about any subject they chose.…”

“I offered to have a period for the transaction of morning business with Senators to talk about any subject they chose. It could be the gas tax bill. It could be the budget resolution. It could be stock options. It could be anything. That has been objected to, which I find highly unusual. Then I offered, to try to accommodate what I thought may be a way to get the debate started and some progress to be made, to go with the Democratic alternative. Again, in terms of one-man action here, all I am trying to do is to get debate on this very important issue, the marriage penalty tax. Does the Senate want to have a debate and vote on that or not? We have been talking about it for years. Now we are up to the point where we would like to go forward. We haven't been able to get a list of amendments or enter into an agreement. But I am still hopeful we will be able to get a list of amendments and agree to proceed. But I was trying to go ahead and protect our rights to file cloture, if it is needed, on Thursday. That is being objected to.”