Bob Dole: “Well, again, I will be happy to explore it. I have always been willing to explore any possibility. Maybe we could couple…”

“Well, again, I will be happy to explore it. I have always been willing to explore any possibility. Maybe we could couple it with something we would like to do on this side of the aisle, something the majority leader might like to have happen. We could work some agreement like that. But, again, I have not--nobody has made a proposal except the amendment has been offered. I assume that sooner or later the issue will be voted upon, directly or indirectly, but not today and not tomorrow and hopefully not this week, because we have a number of issues before us and this will take, as everyone knows, considerable debate. It is an unfunded mandate. It is subject to a point of order, according to the Congressional Budget Office. We all voted to end unfunded mandates, and here we are about to impose, or would like to impose, at least some would like to impose, another unfunded mandate on the very political subdivisions we said we would not mandate different costs and expenditures, whatever. Unless somebody has a proposal to make, now there is an amendment pending, and my view is that we should debate it. If there is to be debate, that is fine. There will be no vote. We will just wait and have the cloture vote tomorrow morning.”