Harry Reid: “I personally appreciate his hours of time, and the tens of hours his staff has spent--probably hundreds of hours--on…”

“I personally appreciate his hours of time, and the tens of hours his staff has spent--probably hundreds of hours--on this legislation. I am grateful to the Senator for the work he has put into this legislation and for the fairness he has demonstrated to the chairman of the committee and the Senators from Nevada. The fact that Senator Bingaman has done everything within his power to get satisfactory legislation passed should be spread throughout the Record. That does not mean the Senators from Nevada would be happy with it, perhaps, but I think he has tried to work on something that would bring a general consensus in this Senate and would satisfy the administration. The Senator worked very hard to do that, and I commend and applaud his legislative abilities and constant fairness in this regard, keeping us informed, keeping the majority informed. I think it bodes well for the Senate to have the Senator as the ranking member and, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, chairman of this very important committee.”