Haley Stevens: “I don't want to be disrespectful to anybody, and I consider every person--at least I consider every person on this floor…”

“I don't want to be disrespectful to anybody, and I consider every person--at least I consider every person on this floor my friend. I am old enough to know that I have outlived most of my enemies. As a practical matter--I don't want to get a little maudlin about this, but these men and women overseas, they are not taking August off. They are not in a rush to get on an airplane. We could finish this bill. My notice of going to go to third reading if there were no amendments is normal. Filibusters started around this Senate when people didn't want to go to third reading so they offered amendment after amendment after amendment so the leader could not take us to third reading. We developed a procedure, a family thing here now, that now we do it like Marcus of Queensbury rules. I remember being on this floor overnight for two and three nights in a row, and so does my friend from Hawaii. I don't disagree with this procedure--it is a more humane procedure--but I do think we have a job to do, and the No. 1 job to do is to get this Defense bill to the President before the fiscal year starts. Now, I understand we can get a commitment that we will finish by Wednesday night.…”