we have on our side Senators Thune and Roberts who are waiting. I know Senator Bond has indicated he wishes to speak, and Senator Inhofe. I wish to advise those Senators I have to recognize those on the floor; otherwise, we lose time to a…

Fine. That is quite agreeable to me, take 30 minutes to present the amendment. Then we will on this side have an equal amount of time.

I admire the courage of the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Senator from Massachusetts has seen it, and I have seen it. We are political figures, he and I. We understand when we see another leader. He has stood with our President and…

I think this chairman has resonated with debates for months on this issue of timetables. I say to my good friend from Massachusetts, as I stated in our colloquy here, clearly by setting forth a terminal date there is a timetable, and that…

So we are back to the hour and 20 minutes on that side before we receive any time on this side?

Yes, out of respect for our distinguished colleague. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.

I would be happy to say, when the time comes to this side, he can initiate on our time his remarks.

That is a very reasonable request. I now ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Vermont and the Senator from Illinois be----

That may be true, but I will ask another question. Drop down to paragraph 3, ``maintenance of over-the-horizon troop presence.'' ``The President should maintain an over-the-horizon troop presence to prosecute the war on terror and protect…

I hope we have a rotation. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from New Jersey.

Well, I must say, I shared that on this side, but I was willing to take the heat.

Then, following the Senator from Connecticut, the Senator from Pennsylvania would be recognized for the remainder of my time in this time slot, Mr. Santorum. That would be followed, I inform other Senators, by Senator Boxer, from roughly…

All right. We have the opportunity, Senator. Is there anything you wish to ask of me? And I will ask a few of you.

I will say to my good friend and colleague--and my remarks are not predicated on the fact in all likelihood that he will cast a vote which will be supportive of the views that this Senator and others on this side of the aisle have stated…

I thank all for their cooperation. I think we have reached a reconciliation of the needs and requirements of all for a period of time. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Kerry be recognized now to offer his amendment and…

I yield back the remaining 2 minutes I have under my control. The order provides for 30 minutes for the distinguished Senator from California, to be followed by 20 minutes from the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd. The PRESIDING…

if that is with no objection, the next 30 minutes is under the Senator's control.

Senator Lieberman. I didn't hear Senator Byrd mentioned. Let's hear from our senior colleague as to what his desires are.

I caution my colleague because that is saying to this new Iraqi Government that you are going to fail.

I say to my good friend, the order has been in for some 24 hours by which this is the amendment. The time allocation is under the control of the two managers. We will work that out momentarily, hopefully on an equitable basis. I do not at…

we just disagree. I feel this government hasn't been given a chance. It has only been 6 weeks. It took 18 months to get to where they are today. If we were to enact this into law, presumably the authorization bill would be signed by the…

we will conclude. I just say if we had more time, I would want to enter into another chapter of debate with the Senator on what would be the consequences if we saw failure; if this program of his, no matter how well conceived and how…

I recognize on the floor Senator Roberts, Senator Bond, and Senator Inhofe, and Senator Kyl intends to come. So with the balance of that time, I will try to allocate it as equally as we can. I think Senator Roberts is next in line, so I…

In other words, we are in an unusual situation. Now, maybe the distinguished colleague from Massachusetts can help advise his leadership and me as to the time. It would be helpful because, like colleagues on this side, there are…

Cosponsors of that amendment: the Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer, and the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy. I inquire of the manager, in consultation with the proponents of this amendment, first, if we could get some estimate of the…