Thomas Daschle: “It is just not accurate for the Senator from Alaska to assert that this is unprecedented. That is the word he used; this…”

“It is just not accurate for the Senator from Alaska to assert that this is unprecedented. That is the word he used; this was 'unprecedented.' As I said for the Record--it is now part of the Record--this very action was taken by the majority leader in May and September of the year 2000--exactly the same. So I would just make sure that our colleagues are aware, this is not unprecedented. It has happened on many, many occasions, involving many, many issues and many committees. I think we ought to get on to the substantive issues, and put this procedural issue to rest once and for all. We have a lot of important substantive debates in store. I look forward to having those. But I do hope we can clarify the Record in this regard and move on to more substantive questions.”