Arlen Specter: “when I yielded the floor as 5:40 arrived, I was in the middle of commenting about the work which the distinguished…”

“when I yielded the floor as 5:40 arrived, I was in the middle of commenting about the work which the distinguished ranking member, Senator Leahy, and I had done on this bill and the spirit of collegiality and the spirit of bipartisanship which has characterized the work of the Judiciary Committee the past 13 months. Senator Leahy and I have worked together as ranking member and as chairman. This bill represents very substantial work and analysis as to how we have gotten there. When the Senator from Nevada talks about the debate being useful up to the present time, I tabulate three Senators who spoke in opposition to the bill. And a good bit of what they have had to say is in error factually on the merits. This bill has been subjected to more analysis, more discussions--I was saying before I yielded the floor when time had arrived for the minority leader--than any bill in the history of legislation. I acknowledge that as a very grandiose statement because I do not know all of the legislative bills that have been considered in the history of the legislative process. But I make that assertion based upon what has been done, which I detailed yesterday, with Judge Becker, a senior Federal judge, and I hosting some 36 meetings, attended by 20, 30, 40, sometimes as many as 60 people, and the numerous meetings which Judge Becker has had on a volunteer basis, and the many meetings I have had with individual Senators.…”