Dick Durbin: “If I could ask for the floor for 2 minutes, I thank the Senator from Florida for his leadership on this issue. It has…”

“If I could ask for the floor for 2 minutes, I thank the Senator from Florida for his leadership on this issue. It has been a contentious, hotly debated, and in some ways divisive issue between appropriations and authorization committees in the Senate. When Senator Nelson told me he was willing to step up and try to be that bridge over troubled waters, I welcomed his entry into that conversation. I thank him, Senator Gardner, Senator Bennet, Senator Cochran, Senator Shelby, Senator McCain, and all who have engaged in this. We have come to the right place, where we are going to be promoting competition, which is good for taxpayers, and we are also going to do it in a way that protects our national security interests. I thank the Senator from Florida for his leadership on this issue. Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, the vote is scheduled for 11 o'clock this morning, and we will be voting on the Defense authorization bill. Unfortunately, we have a situation on the objections of a Senator or Senators that their amendment is not allowed because of the objections of another Senator. In other words, we now have a situation where there are Senators in the Senate for whom it is either their way or the highway, and if they are not having an amendment that is agreed to, then they will object to other Senators' amendments no matter whether those amendments have any validity or any support.…”