Frank Lautenberg: “if I might add a word also, to say that working with our colleagues on the Republican side, particularly the chairman of…”

“if I might add a word also, to say that working with our colleagues on the Republican side, particularly the chairman of the Budget Committee with whom I work closely and I consider a friend, we try to handle disagreements in a positive fashion. Sometimes it gets a little edgy, but rarely. I also want to say I thought, and I was discussing it with a couple of Senators here, that there was a degree of comity in this deliberation that is an improvement, I think, over what we have seen in past years. It is a much better way to work. I thank our leader for his support and also to say to the majority leader that his steady hand helped move things along. It has been an excellent experience. I wish we had won more than we did, but we go away knowing that we had a fair chance at the deliberation. That is what counts. I particularly want to say to Phil Gramm and to Senator Nickles, I thank them for their gesture--with the encouragement of the majority leader--in kind of righting what we took to be a wrong. I want to acknowledge it publicly. With that, I thank my friend from New Mexico and hope we will have lots of occasions to do these budget resolutions--with me in the majority seat. I hope we will be able to do this many times. Mr. President, I thank the Democratic staff of the Budget Committee for a job well done.”