Cord Byrd: “I take the floor at this late hour to express my appreciation to the senior Senator from Alaska, Mr. Stevens, for his…”

“I take the floor at this late hour to express my appreciation to the senior Senator from Alaska, Mr. Stevens, for his cooperation in handling this bill and for his masterful handling of the bill on the floor. I thought it best to let him do that without any action or work on my part. The problem was on his side. I believed that Chairman Stevens was the man to deal with those things. He did it to perfection. I thank him. We couldn't have gotten to this point had it not been for Senator Stevens and his support. Let me also thank Harry Reid. Senator Reid is a whip sui generis. He has been a real asset to the leadership, and to the managers of the bill in getting this bill passed. It has taken hours on his part. For his willingness to stay until the last, for his willingness to take our statements and get them in the Record, I want to personally thank him for a job well done. It is a hard job. I have been a whip. I have not been whipped, but I have been a whip around here. So I know the kind of work he did. I also thank the wonderful staff on both sides of the aisle. They worked hard. They worked during the hours after some of us went home to sleep. But they stayed here. And they will still be here after we go home tonight. We can't thank them enough. They are excellent. I thank Members on both sides of the aisle for the courtesies they extended. I think this is a good bill. I am glad we passed it. We need to get it to conference. Perhaps there will battles there.”