Dick Durbin: “I hope to restate the unanimous consent request which was agreed to accurately. It is my understanding that at 4:45 we…”

“I hope to restate the unanimous consent request which was agreed to accurately. It is my understanding that at 4:45 we will have a vote on the motion to table the pending amendment by Senator Cornyn of Texas, and that the time be equally divided between now and then, which would be 60 minutes, 30 minutes to each side; that I am controlling the 30 minutes in opposition to the motion to table. I will yield from that amount 15 minutes to Senator Cornyn to speak during the same period. He can use that time, even if I don't have to give him the floor at the moment. We have to understand what we are considering. I am sure people who are watching this debate wonder why we take so much time going into quorum calls and talking among ourselves trying to come to some agreement about what we are going to do. That is the way the Senate operates. We operate by unanimous consent. Everyone has to agree. Think about that--100 different Senators coming to an agreement. However, we have managed, at least to the point of bringing this to a vote. The vote is important because the bill before the Senate right now is a bill about asbestos. Everyone knows asbestos is a lethal substance which, if inhaled, can kill you. It can cause your lungs to stop functioning, you can start to suffocate, and you can develop something like lung cancer called mesothelioma and die. People all across America, since we started using asbestos in products, have been exposed to it.…”