Trent Lott: “I inquire of my distinguished colleague, the senior Senator from Mississippi, has he made other commitments at this time…”

I wish to acknowledge the Senator's kind remarks. It was a pleasure working with him on this legislation. It has been a long time coming. I appreciate the active involvement he has had, along with other Senators on both sides of the aisle…

However, like so many of the things that we complain about in the Congress, we looked around, and we found the enemy, and it is us.

My recommendation to the Congress and to the president would be, quit campaigning, quit having press conferences. Sit down at a round table and negotiate a deal.

I have argued we should not filibuster Federal judges. One time when I sat in that seat as majority leader, my colleagues actually voted to filibuster a judge and opposed cloture. Senator Hatch and I took to the floor and said we are not…