Bill Bennett: “I have been here for an hour and a half now listening to this debate, listening to the argument going back and forth…”

“I have been here for an hour and a half now listening to this debate, listening to the argument going back and forth, and the conclusion I think I hear from the Senator from Louisiana and the Senator from Connecticut is an interesting one. It may not be the conclusion they really think they came to, but the conclusion I hear them saying, particularly in the final statements that took place, is they put this in the amendment to give the labor unions a sense of security but, in fact, that security is not there, so we can vote for the amendment with a clear conscience; that they did what the unions wanted them to do so they would not feel nervous about being put into this new Department, but reading their interpretation of the law, they are saying it really does not make any difference. The last comment from the Senator from Connecticut that even an arbitrary and capricious action by a President--and he made it clear he did not expect this President to do that, and I appreciate his graciousness in that, but then in a hypothetical, an arbitrary or capricious action by a President could still go unchecked under this amendment and, therefore, we ought to embrace it. If that is, in fact, the case--I will look at it very closely with some help from people who are burdened with a legal education, as I am not--if that is, in fact, the case, I think the Senator from Connecticut has just exposed himself to a little criticism from the unions.…”