| 00:00:00 | BEEN EXTREMELY COOPERATIVE. |
| 00:00:03 | EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE THE LAST FEW DAYS -- I SEE ON THE FLOOR MY FRIEND, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE. |
| 00:00:10 | SHE KNOWS HOW HARD THIS HAS BEEN AND HOW COOPERATIVE THE REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN. |
| 00:00:14 | NO ONE HAS BEEN MORE SO THAN THE RANKING MEMBER OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE, JIM INHOFE. |
| 00:00:22 | I WILL ALWAYS ADMIRE JIM INHOFE FOR THE WORK -- I'LL BE DARNED, HERE HE IS. |
| 00:00:29 | I WILL ALWAYS ADMIRE JIM INHOFE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH HE APPROACHED THIS IMPORTANT PIECE OF LEGISLATION. |
| 00:00:33 | AND WE PASSED OUT ACCOLADES ON THIS FLOOR ABOUT EVERYONE, HOW HARD THEY WORKED. |
| 00:00:40 | BUT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET THIS BILL DONE EXCEPT FOR JIM INHOFE. |
| 00:00:44 | FACT -- FACT. |
| 00:00:46 | SO I'M DISAPPOINTED WE SCANT DO THINGS -- WE CAN'T DO THINGS TONIGHT. |
| 00:00:51 | AS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE, CHAIRMAN OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE JUST SAID, WE WOULD STAY HERE TONIGHT ON OUR SIDE, YOU KNOW, UNTIL THE Wii HOURS OF THE -- UNTIL THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME THINGS -- I WAS SCHEDULED TO BE IN LAKE TAHOE TO. |
| 00:01:11 | BUT I CAN'T BE THERE. |
| 00:01:12 | AND OTHER PEOPLE HAVE CERTAINLY MORE IMPORTANT TRIPS THAN THAT. |
| 00:01:16 | BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO FACE WITH THESE JOBS THAT WE HAVE, WHICH ARE A TREMENDOUS PRIVILEGE BUT SOMETIMES WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY AS THE GOVERNOR DOES, THE PRESIDENT DOES, A MEMBER OF THE COURT DOES, TO JUST SAY THE SCHEDULE THIS WAY. |
| 00:01:32 | THAT IS NOT THE WAY IT WORKS HERE. |
| 00:01:34 | THERE ARE 100 DIFFERENT LEADERS HERE EACH THINKING THAT THEY HAVE THE BEST WAY OF SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD. |
| 00:01:40 | AND IT TAKES A WHILE SOMETIMES TO WORK THROUGH THEIR OPINIONS. |
| 00:01:50 | MR. |
| 00:01:51 | PRESIDENT, I ASK NOW UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT WE NOW PROCEED TO A PERIOD OF MORNING BUSINESS SENATORS ALLOWED TO SPEAK UP TO TEN MINUTES EACH. |
| 00:01:56 | THE PRESIDING OFFICER: WITHOUT OBJECTION. |
| 00:01:57 | MR. REID: I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT THE SENATE PROCEED TO S. |
| 00:02:01 | RES. 514. |
| 00:02:02 | THE |
Mr. REID. We likely cannot do anything until the House votes on the bill tomorrow. We are trying to work through that. I have to say, the House has been extremely cooperative in everything we have done the last few days. I see on the floor my friend, the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. She knows how hard this has been and how cooperative the Republicans have been. No one has been more so than the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Jim Inhofe.
I will always admire Jim Inhofe for the manner in which he approached this important piece of legislation. We pass out accolades on this floor, about everyone, how hard they work, but we would not be able to get this bill done except for Jim Inhofe. Fact.
So I am disappointed we cannot do this tonight. As the chairman of the Judiciary Committee just said, we would stay here tonight on our side until the wee hours of the morning, because we have some things to do. I was scheduled to be in Lake Tahoe tomorrow, but I can't be there. Other people have certainly more important trips than that. But it is one of the issues we have to face with these jobs we have, which are a tremendous privilege, but sometimes we do not have the ability, as a Governor does or the President does, a member of the Court does, to say: This is the schedule. There are 100 different leaders here, each thinking they have the best way of solving the problems of the world, and it takes a while sometimes to work through their opinions.
END