Lincoln Chafee: “this is a very, very contentious issue. Fortunately, in our Environment and Public Works Committee we were able to…”

“this is a very, very contentious issue. Fortunately, in our Environment and Public Works Committee we were able to report out this basic legislation 18 to 0. Then we have to do this so-called stopgap legislation, because we weren't able to consider the big bill due to a variety of factors. This bill now is a result of bipartisan cooperation. As we mentioned, Senator Baucus has been deeply involved in this, and of course, Senator Warner, Senator Bond, myself, and others. I join in the salute to the staff. They have been really terrific. I would like particularly to offer the names of those who worked so hard: Jimmie Powell, Tom Sliter, Kathy Ruffalo, Dan Corbett, Ann Loomis, Peter Rogoff, with Senator Byrd, and Tracy Henke with Senator Bond. Every single one of those staffers was absolutely terrific.”