Don Nickles: “to the Senator from Arizona and the Senator from Oregon, flattery will get you everywhere, and may well end up getting…”

“to the Senator from Arizona and the Senator from Oregon, flattery will get you everywhere, and may well end up getting an amendment. Let me state, Mr. President, my thoughts. Originally, I will tell my friends and colleagues that I thought this was not the right way or the right time to legislate such an important matter. I am very dubious at the outset when I see legislative actions taking play the last day or two of the session, when measures have not had time to have hearings and have the benefit of congressional thought, hearings, markup, input from people on all sides. This is important legislation. I will tell my colleague from Oregon who originally introduced this and had the assistance of the Senator from Arizona, the thrust of it I would concur. I also want to compliment the Senators from Oregon and Arizona for their willingness to be flexible, to understand that some of us did have serious concerns, concerns about making sure we protect the rights of States. They have shown a willingness to do that. Some States have acted. We want to compliment those States. We do not want to preempt their actions. Also, dealing with religious institutions, I think, we still have a little way to go there. I know we will confer more tonight, and maybe tomorrow we can bring that to a conclusion.”