Byron Dorgan: “last evening a number of us were here, a good many Senators, as a matter of fact, were here almost all night holding a…”

“last evening a number of us were here, a good many Senators, as a matter of fact, were here almost all night holding a vigil on the issue of the disaster relief bill that seems ensnarled in, regrettably, politics as usual. We have done the only thing we can do, and that is to apply as much consistent pressure as is possible to the Congress to say, ``Do the right thing.'' And the right thing is to pass disaster relief for victims who have suffered natural disasters, especially the flood victims in the region of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, and get them that aid as soon as is possible. I am not here to point fingers or to say that there is this side or that side. For me there is only one side and that is being on the side of victims of a natural disaster. I know there are a lot of things floating around here, back and forth, with extraneous amendments and so on. I am not interested in politics. I am only interested in progress, speaking on behalf of some people who were dealt a very serious blow, one they did not deserve but one that they now have to try to recover from, and one they will recover from when we reach out our hand of help to say, ``You are not alone. The rest of the country wants to offer you some help.''”