Thomas Daschle: “in discussing these matters with the majority leader, there is somewhat of a rare consensus here that the two matters he…”

“in discussing these matters with the majority leader, there is somewhat of a rare consensus here that the two matters he has raised once again this morning are critical, not only to this body but to the country, and must be addressed prior to the time we leave. The bill currently pending, managed so well by Senators Collins and Lieberman, and the task force and the effort to reorganize the legislative branch creating greater oversight and clearer lines of responsibility for intelligence are critical matters and high priorities. I hope we can continue to keep the discipline and focus on this legislation until we have successfully completed it. I am optimistic, given the cooperation and the degree of comity on these matters, that we can complete our work, but I do believe it is going to take the kind of schedule that the majority leader and I addressed a moment ago.”