Thomas Daschle: “I say to both my colleagues from Oregon how much we appreciate their extraordinary efforts. I do not know of many pieces…”

“I say to both my colleagues from Oregon how much we appreciate their extraordinary efforts. I do not know of many pieces of legislation that pass unanimously not once but twice, and not only twice but within a matter of weeks. But that is the case. This legislation passed unanimously as an amendment to the counterterrorism bill. This amendment has just now been passed unanimously as part of the foreign operations appropriations bill. That would not have happened were it not for their tenacity and their decisive leadership. I am grateful to them, first of all, for their willingness to continue to pursue this effort until they are successful. I was involved in these discussions and negotiations with our colleagues from the House as we negotiated the various pieces. There were various reasons this legislation was not kept as part of the counterterrorism legislation, but I will tell my colleagues what I have said publicly: We will continue to pursue this; we will continue to persist until this becomes law. As the Senator from Oregon has noted, the White House indicated they are prepared to join us in that effort. With that additional assistance, with those assurances, we are in a much stronger position now than we have been at any time in recent months to ensure our success. But if for whatever reason we are not successful, this will come back again and again, and we will continue to send it to the House again and again until it is done successfully.”