María Elvira Salazar: “let me first of all say thank you to Senator Collins for her work and for her seeking a solution to Iraq and joining…”

“let me first of all say thank you to Senator Collins for her work and for her seeking a solution to Iraq and joining with the other cosponsors of this legislation. As is so often the case, Susan Collins is part of a group of people in the Senate who try to find a solution to the problems our Nation faces. So I appreciate her comments, and I appreciate her being a cosponsor of this legislation as well. I rise tonight in this period of morning business to speak in support of amendment No. 2063, which is the amendment to implement the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. I wish to say first of all that this is probably the most bipartisan amendment we have seen to deal with Iraq. I thank Senator Alexander for his help and his leadership in terms of getting this legislation drafted. It is legislation we have been working on for a long period of time with members of the Baker-Hamilton Commission, with Secretary Baker and Lee Hamilton, and we will refer to them later on. I wish to say a particular thanks to my colleagues who have joined with us in this effort, including Senator Pryor of Arkansas, Senator Casey, Senator Lincoln, Senator Nelson of Florida, Senator Landrieu, and Senator McCaskill, all of whom on this side of the aisle have shown great leadership in trying to find a new way forward in Iraq.”