Trent Lott: “I think if we could get cloture passed tomorrow and then work through the amendments that are still legitimately filed…”

“I think if we could get cloture passed tomorrow and then work through the amendments that are still legitimately filed and we are concerned about, we can get those done tomorrow and bring this to a conclusion. If not tomorrow, at a reasonable time on Thursday so we can move on to other legislation. Of course, another thing, obviously, we would like to still hold the final passage until the House has acted. We may not actually be able to completely have the final passage until Thursday if the House has not acted by Wednesday, but we could complete everything and then have final passage on Thursday. Now, with regard to the quote about not wanting the President to have the upper hand, that is right. I do not want him to have the upper hand. What we need to have is for nobody to have the upper hand. We need to have coequal positions: Congress has a certain responsibility, and the President has a certain responsibility and advantages. We need to find a way to work through that, where neither side can hold the other hostage, neither side.”