Trent Lott: “Plus, if you have a substitute and then you have, let's just say, one or two related germane amendments, then you have…”

“Plus, if you have a substitute and then you have, let's just say, one or two related germane amendments, then you have five amendments on each side--that is 10 amendments--and even if we got a time agreement, you are talking about 12, or more, or 14 hours, which would be a minimum of 2 days. The problem we have in July is that we now have completed six appropriations bills, meaning there are still seven we have to get done. I hope that, at a minimum, we get five or six more done in July because they are very important bills that need to get completed so they can get in conference with the House, so they can be sent to the President, so hopefully he can sign them. We are talking about Agriculture; Interior; Housing and Urban Development; Treasury-Postal Service; Commerce-State-Justice--these are big, important appropriations bills. We have all those we have to do in July--a 3-week period--plus we have to do the marriage penalty tax elimination. I think there is an overwhelming desire to get that done, on both sides of the aisle, although we still disagree on how to get it done. But the Finance Committee has reported that out in a reconciliation bill. And there is a desire to do the China PNTR. I know we don't have the time to set aside 2 whole days in the midst of all that for the death tax. If we could just agree to a substitute and germane amendments--this is a bill that passed the House overwhelmingly. Sixty-five Democrats voted for it.…”