Don Nickles: “I do not know what the agenda is. I know the chairman of the Judiciary Committee has a different opinion. Maybe the…”

“I do not know what the agenda is. I know the chairman of the Judiciary Committee has a different opinion. Maybe the Democratic leader decided we are not going to be dealing with the appropriations bill. We have an amendment on which we are getting ready to vote. We were supposed to vote on it a couple of minutes ago. I guess people want to debate the Michigan case, but that is really not the issue before us. The issue before us is an appropriations bill. Eleven out of the thirteen appropriations bills have not been passed. We are trying to finish the appropriations bills. The chairman of the Appropriations Committee is trying to move the Senate forward. He has been asking for amendments. We are trying to consider amendments. We are getting ready to vote on an amendment, and the Democratic leader has a resolution that says: We want to adopt a position opposite that of the President of the United States on the Michigan case, without even advanced warning and without allowing the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who also has a resolution taking a different position, to come forward. There is a time and place to debate it, but this is not it. We should be doing the business we have not completed from last year, and that is the appropriations bill.”