Thomas Daschle: “First, 10 hours of debate is totally insufficient for a treaty as important as this. I appreciate very much the majority…”

“First, 10 hours of debate is totally insufficient for a treaty as important as this. I appreciate very much the majority leader's willingness to respond to the continued requests we have made for consideration of this treaty. He and I hold a different view about the importance of it, but we are certainly willing to have a debate and have the vote. I appreciate as well his willingness to respond as quickly as he has. In this case, we have been attempting to get to this point for a long period of time. But October 6 is a time that I don't think allows for adequate preparation for a debate of this magnitude. Keep in mind, no hearings have been held yet on this issue. Unfortunately, as a result of that, I don't think people are fully cognizant of the ramifications of this treaty and the importance of it. I will certainly agree to a time certain if we can extend the length of debate. I would also be concerned about the language in the unanimous-consent request that assumes this treaty will be defeated. The last paragraph makes an assumption that we are not prepared to make at this point. We don't think it necessarily will be defeated. We look forward to working with the leader and coming up with a time we can debate it and give it the time it deserves. I hope it will be done sometime this coming month. I look forward to working with the majority leader to make that happen.”