Byron Dorgan: “this is very curious. My friend from New Mexico, when I asked the question about whether the bill is pending or at the…”

“this is very curious. My friend from New Mexico, when I asked the question about whether the bill is pending or at the desk, as was his implication, said that may or may not be the case. It either is or is not the case. The answer is, it is not the case. I don't want people to come to the floor and say the stimulus program that came from the Senate Finance Committee is somewhere around here and the majority leader doesn't wish to bring it back to the floor. It was on the floor, we had a vote on it, and in fact every Member on the other side of the aisle voted to take it off the floor. I think when the Senator says that may or may not be the case, this is a matter of fact. I don't want people to leave the implication that somehow there is a bill sitting at the desk, ready to come to the floor, but Senator Daschle chooses not to bring it to the floor. In fact, the bill at the desk is the House bill. That bill came from the House Ways and Means Committee. It was a partisan bill, written by Chairman Thomas and the Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee-- the very process the Senator from New Mexico criticizes. That was passed by the House of Representatives 216 to 214. That is what is now at the desk. It came to the floor of the Senate, and we had a debate. It is also the case that every bill, including the House bill, the Senate Republican bill, and the bill the Senate Finance Committee passed, had a point of order that could be lodged against it.”