Trent Lott: “I will not object, but I do wish to commend Senator Daschle for working to make it possible to move this antiterrorism…”

“I will not object, but I do wish to commend Senator Daschle for working to make it possible to move this antiterrorism bill forward. I also commend Senator Leahy. Two weeks ago, it looked as if it was hopelessly balled up and an agreement or compromise was not going to be worked out. There was a lot of give and take, and Senator Leahy hung in there. Even though some people were being critical of him, he did not let it deter him. He stuck with it and came up with a very strong bill, a delicately balanced bill. He worked with the administration. He worked with his colleague on the other side of the aisle, and I think compliments are due all around. Is it a perfect bill? No. I have people on our side of the aisle who believe it is still not nearly strong enough, and Senators who would like to have an opportunity to offer amendments that would make it even stronger from the standpoint of how we deal with the necessary information we need, wiretaps, and from a law enforcement standpoint, but this was a way for us to deal with this critical issue. I do not make a blanket indictment. I do worry about, Heaven forbid, something further happening that we could have avoided if we had had these tools at our disposal. We still have to get through the Senate, get through the House, get into conference, and get this bill done. We are talking about, if we get this done tomorrow or the next day, still probably a week. So I urge my colleagues on both sides, let us work together.”