Tom Carper: “I know he has serious misgivings about this legislation. But he has worked constructively, as have people on our side…”

“I know he has serious misgivings about this legislation. But he has worked constructively, as have people on our side and the Republican side, to get us to this point in time. Senator Reid of Nevada is our new leader on the Democratic side. He is not on the floor, but I express to him and my colleagues, if he is listening, my heartfelt thanks for working with the Republican leadership and those on our side who support this legislation, to enable us to have this opportunity to debate it fairly and openly, allowing people who like it, people who do not like it, those who wanted to offer amendments, those who did not want to offer amendments, to have a chance for the regular order to take place, to debate the issues and vote, and then to move on. I do not know if this legislation, the way we have taken it up and debated it, can serve as a template or example to use in addressing other difficult issues--energy policy, asbestos litigation, a variety of other issues--but it might.”