Thomas Daschle: “I am gratified to hear the distinguished assistant Republican leader is optimistic. I was optimistic. I hope I can have…”

“I am gratified to hear the distinguished assistant Republican leader is optimistic. I was optimistic. I hope I can have that optimism restored. As I noted just a moment ago, there are about 30 amendments pending, but we really believe that a lot of the amendments that are still pending depend on the outcome of the amendment to be offered by Senators Bayh and Ensign. So it is hard for us to move forward on the other amendments until that one has been resolved. So we are in a situation where we cannot move forward until our Republican colleagues acknowledge the need to, not only offer the amendment, but to have it debated and voted upon, so we can clear the way for whatever additional amendments along the lines of the subject matter the Bayh-Ensign amendment addresses. That is the issue. That is the concern we have. I hope we can clarify it soon. But I only raise this concern because I suggest the hour, while it is not late, is getting later, and we do not have a lot of time to finish all the work that is left. I believe we made our commitment, kept our commitment, and I hope we can accomplish what many of us had hoped we could do 2 weeks ago.”