Cord Byrd: “Mr. President, I compliment the managers of the bill, Mr. Harkin and Mr. Jeffords. They have worked hard and the…”

“Mr. President, I compliment the managers of the bill, Mr. Harkin and Mr. Jeffords. They have worked hard and the legislation is certainly an improvement over the current situation. I do have some reservations about the contents of the bill--I intend to vote for it--and about the manner in which it was brought up for consideration. Before I cast my vote, I would like to take this opportunity to express my concern with the legislation. First, and foremost, a committee report on S. 717 was not available until early on Monday, yesterday, and the Senate proceeded to debate S. 717 on Monday. That is not anything new around here. We are witnessing more and more of it, and too much of it. I was not able to secure a copy of the report until yesterday afternoon, which constrained my ability to read the committee report as thoroughly as I would have liked. It is unfortunate and unnecessary that our independent judgment as Senators is so often being subjected to narrow time constraints to render a decision on the ramifications of important bills such as this one.”