Frank Lautenberg: “I salute the fact that the appropriations chairman is anxious to get this finished. The subcommittee chairman and I are…”

“I salute the fact that the appropriations chairman is anxious to get this finished. The subcommittee chairman and I are also anxious. But the one thing that concerns me--and I am not going to object to the request that was made--is this: Normally, there is a time lapse for filing the report during which there is time to review the report. Suddenly, we are at a pell-mell pace. I want to get it finished. I think it is fair to Senator Shelby, myself, and the Appropriations Committee chairman to make sure this doesn't trample on anybody's rights so that Senators have the opportunity to review. We are picking up the pace considerably. Thus far, we have had three bills: MILCON, legislative, and Defense. So we are not in the back of the pack by a long shot. This is a bill in which lots of people have an interest. I want to ensure that our people have a chance to look at the report which was filed today. It won't even be seen until tomorrow. We may have to stretch our tolerance level a little bit to give folks a chance. I don't want to drag my feet. Certainly, the Senator from Alabama knows that. I want to be cooperative, and I want people to respond. It is always a frustrating experience when we bring a bill to the floor when time goes by and people who want to offer amendments don't bring them down.”