Kent Conrad: “Mr. President, this bill is critically important because it responds to the disasters in many States. Obviously, of…”

“Mr. President, this bill is critically important because it responds to the disasters in many States. Obviously, of greatest concern and interest to this Senator are the disasters that have occurred in North Dakota. Perhaps I could give a brief review for my colleagues and people who might be watching on the need for this disaster legislation. Before I do that, I want to thank those who helped write this legislation. I specifically want to thank the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Stevens. I also want to thank his staff because they listened to our plea for help and they responded. We deeply appreciate that. There were some heated moments as we discussed this legislation, but much of what is here is very good and critically important to our recovery. As I say that, I must also register disappointment for the unrelated matters that have been included in this legislation, which the President has indicated will compel him to veto the legislation. We asked for and pleaded for a clean disaster bill, one that did not contain extraneous matters. But that did not happen.”