Political Quotes

“Part of the business of the Senate on the treaty is to expose its flaws and to have a robust debate about those flaws, which can provide the foundation for amendments which we intend to offer. I was struck by the seriousness and importance, at least in my mind, of the two-page list of amendments my staff acquired from colleagues. As my colleague knows, we actually shared a list of 10 or 12 amendments that I had thought about, and actually some of my colleagues--in fact, we had a couple-of-hour conversation about that one morning to see if we could reach agreement on any of them, which we were not able to do. But there are some very serious amendments, most of which go to the resolution of ratification, and a few go to the treaty or the preamble itself. I note that yesterday my colleague said--I think I am quoting him correctly--``Make no mistake, we will not allow an amendment to the treaty or the preamble.'' Maybe there are the votes to not allow that. But I do think it is important for us, in this discussion, before offering such an amendment, to appreciate why we believe such an amendment would be important.”