Thomas Daschle: “I applaud him for the extraordinary efforts he has made to get us to this point and the leadership he has provided. As…”

“I applaud him for the extraordinary efforts he has made to get us to this point and the leadership he has provided. As he has noted, we may disagree on other issues, but on this there is very strong bipartisan support. I can speak for all of those on this side of the aisle who have worked to try to pass this legislation. Senator Graham's efforts, his persistence, and the extraordinary effort he brings to ensuring we succeed is a big reason why we are going to be successful today. We have actually voted on this three times in the Senate. We have done so with overwhelming margins. It is not often on an amendment that you can generate 80-plus votes. But 87 Senators have already said this ought to be law. Because they have said it ought to be law, we are confident it will become law sooner or later. The legislation we are offering today very simply recognizes, first, that there are differences between members of the Reserves and the Active Duty. The Active Duty don't have to pay for their health care. We believe that is the way it should be.”