Chuck Hagel: “I would like to address the Kyl-Cornyn amendment tonight. I obviously have listened to some of this debate over the last…”

“I would like to address the Kyl-Cornyn amendment tonight. I obviously have listened to some of this debate over the last hour. There is one thing I want to address before I get into what I think are the real critical issues here, not just on this amendment that we are going to be voting on but the bill, the purpose, underlying focus. I heard the junior Senator from Alabama say that the White House, the President, was supporting the Kyl-Cornyn amendment. That is not my understanding. As a matter of fact, the senior Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, and the senior Senator from Florida, Mr. Martinez, and I just got off the phone with the Chief of Staff of the President of the United States. He did not tell us what I just heard on the floor of the Senate as to the President's support of this amendment. There seems to be some confusion. I would welcome the junior Senator from Alabama or maybe the junior Senator from Texas clarifying that if they have some tangible evidence that the President is supporting this amendment. As I said, we just got off the phone with the Chief of Staff of the President of the United States. I would even add further that maybe some of my colleagues didn't hear the President of the United States Monday night. I think most of America did.…”