Jim Inhofe: “I say to the Senator from Kentucky that we know the rules. But I would like to make one short response, if I may. First…”

“I say to the Senator from Kentucky that we know the rules. But I would like to make one short response, if I may. First of all, Mr. President, I have a great deal of respect for this institution, and I have studied the background and the history of how we got into a bicameral system. I think there is a very useful purpose for that. I served 8 years in the House of Representatives, and things run through there quickly. The train has slowed down here. But there is a difference between slowing down the train and stopping the train. When a statement is made about why the urgency since it does not take effect until 1996, the urgency is that we have many other things in a contract, a so-called Contract With America, things that Americans believe they were voting for on November 8. We want an opportunity to present those. We cannot do that if we get bogged down day after day for hours and do not get much done with a bill. I will make one other statement that I think is very significant. Certainly, I have the utmost respect for the Senator from Kentucky. It is true that when the Republicans were the minority here in this body, that there was filibustering going on. I think even though it may not have technically been a filibuster, what we have been experiencing in the last 6 days certainly is very close to that.”