[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 25 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S1976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CONSIDERATION OF S. 1805

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, we have just had 5 days of very important 
debate. I think all who entered the debate entered it with good will in 
mind. There have been different points of view, very strongly held 
different points of view. As a result of that, the final passage of S. 
1805 was not possible, and the Senate defeated it. That is all I will 
say about that process.
  I wish to thank so many people who have been tremendously helpful on 
my staff: Brooke Roberts, Lisa McGrath, and Doug Lucke, who worked 
extremely hard with me to perfect S. 1805 and bring it to the floor; 
Chairman Hatch and his staff of the Judiciary Committee: Ted Lehman, 
Brett Tolman, and Reed O'Connor; the leadership staff in the cloakroom; 
and the 55 cosponsors of S. 1805.
  Certainly, there was a strong effort on the part of all to get this 
legislation to the floor, to get clean votes on it. We even, of course, 
had the effort of the House, with a better than two-to-one majority in 
the House, on a clean bill. The President asked that a clean bill be 
received at the White House.
  None of that, in the final hours, appeared to be possible. Clearly, 
we were not going to be allowed to go to conference. The minority saw 
no advantage in allowing the process that is historical and responsible 
in the Senate to move forward because that, of course, takes unanimous 
consent or prolonged effort and votes to get there.
  It is a very short timeline for this year, and we clearly need to 
move the process forward. We will look now to bring the House bill 
forward in a clean way. Ultimately, we hope we might get a cloture 
vote. This issue will not go away. It deserves to be voted on, up or 
down, by the Senate. Clearly, it is the will of the American people 
and, ultimately, we will have that day and that opportunity. That day 
was not today, as much as I wished it could be.
  At the same time, when you have a bad bill that is created by the 
amendment process, it sometimes is difficult, if not impossible, to 
make it better or to make it acceptable. I would not send to this 
President or any President a bad bill of the kind that was crafted in 
the Senate through the amendment process over the last several days.
  But, again, I thank so many who were involved in this effort. It is 
greatly appreciated.
  With that, I yield the floor.

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