Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I say, through you to the majority leader, one of the things we have appreciated on this side during the tenure of the Senator from Tennessee as majority leader is that you have been very good to us, with rare exception, in allowing us to offer amendments. You have given us ample time to offer relevant amendments and nonrelevant amendments prior to doing something procedurally to stop the debate. I recognize, as does Senator Inhofe, that it is not the Republican leadership that has thrown the roadblocks up to the amendment process on this bill. We acknowledge that. There are a number of Senators, for various reasons, who have prevented this bill from moving forward. Speaking only for this Senator, I do not hold the Republican leadership responsible for these dilatory activities. I think the majority leader, in conjunction with the minority leader, the Democratic leader, has to assess how best to proceed in the immediate future. This, as the majority leader has said, is an important piece of legislation. As Senator Lott said yesterday, this could be the most important piece of legislation we will handle this year. Whether that is right or not, I do not know, but I know it is a very important piece of legislation. I hope there is a way we can move forward on this bill.”