Trent Lott: “I say to my colleagues, so many of them have worked hard on this. They have produced a product that has some very…”

“I say to my colleagues, so many of them have worked hard on this. They have produced a product that has some very important things in it. I know some people will be concerned about the process, as I am. I have been concerned, and I have been on both sides of the process question. But this is probably the biggest, most important bill of this year. We need to realize that. Some people say: Oh, this is so unprecedented, and why are we here? I have been here a while--not as long as the distinguished Senator from West Virginia--but this is not unprecedented. This is where we are just about every year. Almost every year, we get down to the end and we have some sort of omnibus or combination of bills, and so there is nothing so unusual or outlandish about all of this. I wish to take just a minute to thank all who have been involved in putting this legislation together, particularly my senior colleague from Mississippi, Senator Cochran. He held the line. He insisted on some reprogramming of the money that had been approved by the Senate earlier for installations that were damaged by the hurricane and to also include additional money when some people did not want to include the money that was needed for our people who are so desperate in the Katrina and Rita devastated areas.…”