Thomas Daschle: “it is with regret that we are filing this cloture motion this morning. Obviously, it won't ripen until Friday. I don't…”

“it is with regret that we are filing this cloture motion this morning. Obviously, it won't ripen until Friday. I don't know that there is any debate about the importance of getting this legislation finished. This is an emergency. This is a commitment that we must make prior to the time we leave, in large measure because the Congressional Budget Office has indicated they will not score it as money that can be utilized. We would not be able to commit the money prior to the time we leave. We all know the stakes. But when Senators come to the floor and offer amendments on Medicare lockboxes on an emergency issue such as this, it is a clear indication that we are not really very serious about finishing this legislation on time. I reluctantly will also ask for a vote to reconsider the Transportation appropriations bill at 11 o'clock this morning. That will at least temporarily take us off of Agriculture and move us back onto the highway legislation, the Transportation appropriations bill, because that, too, is a critical piece of legislation that has to be addressed before we leave. We have made that very clear. I tell all of my colleagues that there will be no respite tonight, if Senators choose to use the full 30 hours, which is their right, prior to the time we go to final passage. We will be in all night long. There is no other recourse. I want to put my colleagues on notice that will happen.”