Thomas Daschle: “I can't believe what I have just heard, frankly. I am really amazed, and I may take a longer time at a later date to…”

“I can't believe what I have just heard, frankly. I am really amazed, and I may take a longer time at a later date to respond. I do not even know where to begin. But let me make four points very quickly. First, to the point made by the Senator from Texas that somehow we are holding up the H-1B bill, that could not be further off the mark. That is not true. I have suggested to Senator Lott and to others that we would be willing to take a very short time agreement, period; it is over; let's have the vote. I think what he said was we are trying to hijack the bill. What is it about offering an amendment that hijacks a piece of legislation? We are not hijacking anything. We are simply asking that we use the regular order here. Let's have the vote. Let's have the vote. We can do it this afternoon. Second, with regard to this notion that somehow we are making illegal activity legal, I wonder if the Senator from Texas has looked at the Statute of Liberty recently--the Statue of Liberty welcoming those oppressed from around the world. What is wrong with granting fairness to all immigrants regardless of circumstance? Why do we draw a distinction?”