Thomas Daschle: “Well, as I say, I note in amusement, the Senator spent some time talking about the President's veto letter, and I am…”

“Well, as I say, I note in amusement, the Senator spent some time talking about the President's veto letter, and I am amused in part because the Speaker has already addressed the veto letter and was asked yesterday if Republicans would be willing to rework the tax cut bill after a veto. He responded--I hope colleagues will listen--that any new legislation would have to go through committee, and anything else would amount to half--I will call it ``half-baked'' legislation. He has another term, but I don't think I want to dignify it this morning. Anything other than a committee process is half-baked, according to the Speaker. Maybe that is how we leave out minimum wage reauthorization. Maybe that is how we leave out Democratic proposals, as the Senator from Nebraska had offered in the committee, along with others, to make this more fair. Maybe that is how it happens. Maybe you don't produce a bill this thick because you don't care about fairness; you don't care about getting it right. I ask the Senator from Massachusetts whether he would care to observe whether he has had, in his experience as ranking member, a time when he has ever seen legislation coming to the floor in this form, leaving out provisions that literally nullify a law that has been standing now for almost 70 years?”