Chuck Hagel: “There is an old North Carolina adage that goes like this: Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good. The Senator has…”

“There is an old North Carolina adage that goes like this: Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good. The Senator has heard that, I know. I think that is what we are talking about this morning. This is rather remarkable. What has been pieced together over 5 months of very diligent effort, leadership, and hard work, making something work based on a bipartisan foreign policy effort and a commitment made by Chairman Helms, Senator Biden, Secretary of State Albright, and the administration, who all have worked very hard on this. When you add to that Senator Grams from Minnesota, as the subcommittee chairman, who has put his imprimatur and worked hard and given his leadership to this effort, this is a remarkable effort. Mr. President, I don't know about you or other Senators in this body, but for years and years, as a private citizen, as a taxpayer, and as a businessman, I would hear constantly, and I have heard over the last 2 years during my campaign: What about the United Nations? What are we doing? The United Nations says we owe money. Do we owe money? How much? What about the peacekeeping efforts? Are our peacekeeping dollars counted? How do we account for that? Isn't it true that we put American men and women in harm's way and we paid the bill and we are in Bosnia and all over the globe? So what is the correct way to assess our dues, our commitment to this very important organization?”