Tom Harkin: “I still urge the majority leader and the minority leader to step back just one step. I request that the majority leader…”

“I still urge the majority leader and the minority leader to step back just one step. I request that the majority leader appoint six people and that the minority leader appoint six people and that they take the remainder of this week and this weekend to see if we can work out a bipartisan approach, to see if they can agree on something and bring it back to us the first of next week. I believe this would be the best approach to take. I think we could step back from this partisan bickering that we are going to encounter here in the next few days. The American people are sick and tired of that kind of partisan bickering, especially when it concerns welfare. I believe there are enough similarities that we can work out a bipartisan agreement. It will not be all of what we want. It will not be all of what you want. But I believe it can garner enough support to be a truly bipartisan effort.”