Thomas Daschle: “I am really amazed and somewhat amused. As you look at this so-called conference report, one could almost read it in…”

“I am really amazed and somewhat amused. As you look at this so-called conference report, one could almost read it in less than a couple of minutes. I won't do that. But I find it interesting, and I ask the Senator from Massachusetts if he could share his observations with regard to the way this conference report was written. This is no conference report. This is nothing more than a list of references to other bills proclaiming it to be a conference report. This says: The provisions of the bills of the 106th Congress are hereby enacted into law: H.R. 5538, H.R. 5542, H.R. 5543, H.R. 5544, H.R. 5545. So ends the conference report. That is the most remarkable thing. I just can't imagine that anybody would be willing to put their signature to a conference report which does nothing more than reference other bills. This is the conference report--or a representation of the conference report. This is what it should look like. What I hold in my hands is how thick the conference report should be. Yet as thick as this is, they could not even get it right. We actually terminate the minimum wage in this conference report. I wonder whether the Senator from Massachusetts is aware of that and could respond to how that could have happened.”