Kent Conrad: “the Senator from Texas has indicated that the bill is unconstitutional with respect to the look-back provisions. We have…”

“the Senator from Texas has indicated that the bill is unconstitutional with respect to the look-back provisions. We have an opinion from the Congressional Research Service on the look-back provisions, and this is what they say: ``We conclude that the bill which may be refined further in the amendment process does not appear to pose serious constitutional concerns and would seem to satisfy a showing of rationality and legitimate government action.'' So while the Senator from Texas has determined this bill unconstitutional, the Congressional Research Service says otherwise. They say this bill is constitutional. They say that it will satisfy a showing of rationality and legitimate government action. We have heard a lot of arguments out on the floor today. We have had a number of Senators dominate the discussion, and, frankly, I had begun to wonder if they were afraid to debate and afraid to vote. That is what is going on here. We are in the ``stall,'' because some are afraid to debate and they are afraid to vote. They won't even allow a debate to occur out here on the floor. They reject any interchange, any discussion. Instead, they just want to give speeches to stall and delay. So, maybe it is time for us to have a debate. I don't know why they won't come out here and debate. Let's have a debate, and let's see what the American people conclude after that. Now, we have heard all day that this is disproportionately affecting the lowest-income people.…”