Thomas Daschle: “I will use my time as leader to make a few comments regarding this nominee. Mr. President, I first want to commend the…”

“I will use my time as leader to make a few comments regarding this nominee. Mr. President, I first want to commend the distinguished Senator from Iowa for his extraordinary work on this nomination. I watched him prior to the time we recessed a couple of weeks ago. His passion, his eloquence, and the power of his words were ones that I wish the rest of the country could have heard. I have no doubt he would have persuaded many had they heard him, as I did. He was back in the Chamber yesterday and again this morning. I thank him for that commitment and his extraordinary efforts to make sure that people understand the consequences of this decision and the great difficulty many of us have with this nomination. Let me also thank our distinguished ranking member for all his work, both in the committee and on the Senate floor, again, in opposition to this nomination. I have not seen the letter of Senator Dole, and I don't know that many of us have had the opportunity to talk to Senator Dole about it, but I will say this: Senator Harkin and Senator Dole were both very directly and successfully involved with the passage of the ADA some years ago. That legislation has been monumental in terms of the change it has meant for the rights of the disabled. The Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990.”