Joe Lieberman: “But the Senator from Connecticut believes that the committee I am privileged to chair has gotten the work done, and that…”

“But the Senator from Connecticut believes that the committee I am privileged to chair has gotten the work done, and that is what we have presented to the Senate. The Senator's amendment would not expedite our work. It would in fact block it. It would stop it from implementation. It would extinguish all we have done in these five areas. I said in my earlier remarks that the committee and I certainly have no claim to perfection. Amendments are in order. As the Senator from West Virginia has said, it is the greatness of this body. And the Senator obviously has a right to submit the amendment that he has, and I respect him. I have a responsibility to my constituents, to my committee, and to my conscience to describe it. With all respect, it appears to me to be an evisceration of what our committee has done. One might just as well vote against the committee's proposal to support the amendment of the Senator from West Virginia. That is how conclusive I think it is. As I have said, it sort of builds that structure and has a few people up in the attic but nobody underneath really working.”