Thomas Daschle: “I appreciate the leader yielding to me. As we go through our daily schedules and responsibilities, I bet I do a lot of…”

“I appreciate the leader yielding to me. As we go through our daily schedules and responsibilities, I bet I do a lot of things which are a source of concern for the majority leader. I am sure he is not surprised that the way this matter has been handled is a source of concern to me. We talk daily. Sometimes we talk hourly. Sometimes I am sure we talk more than he would like. But, nonetheless, we talk. To say we were surprised and disappointed that a unanimous consent request could be propounded without any notification is an understatement. It is disappointing. I hope we can avoid surprising one another. But, of course, we do it. That is understandable. Certainly, the majority leader has every right to proceed in any way he sees most appropriate. I think it is a violation of the trust and communication that we try to maintain. And I am very disappointed he sought to come to the floor without any notification of the issue.”