[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 14 (Thursday, February 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1255-S1256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             BIPARTISANSHIP

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I have just returned to the Senate Chamber 
from a press conference that took place one floor above us in the press 
gallery. There Democratic and Republican Senators, some of our staff, 
and a number of reporters discussed the passage of the class action 
reform bill by a 72-to-26 margin a few moments ago. That was a strong 
bipartisan vote. I was hoping that we might get 70, maybe even 75 
votes, and we ended up right in that neighborhood.
  A lot of people deserve credit for the success of the vote: 
Democratic and Republican Senators who crafted the legislation, debated 
it in committee, and who improved it over the last 7 years since the 
first bill was introduced. The key to getting the legislation passed--
and it is a fair compromise--was figuring out how to set aside our 
partisanship, saying that we are not interested in gridlock, and for us 
to reach across the aisle, Democrats and Republicans and Republicans 
and Democrats, to figure out how we can reconcile our differences and 
resolve what has been a very divisive issue for the past 7 years and 
even before that.
  I said at the press conference--I say here today--my thanks to our 
leader. I

[[Page S1256]]

thanked Senator Frist, the Republican leader. I express my thanks to 
Senator Harry Reid for his willingness to allow this vote to go 
forward. The class action bill was not legislation that he endorsed, 
but he was willing to allow the debate to begin and for those who had 
amendments to the bill to offer the amendments, that we would have 
plenty of time to debate them and to decide the amendments, and then 
without any kind of delaying tactics the Senate would go to final 
passage and take up the bill. I thank him for the very constructive and 
positive role he played in allowing this legislation to be passed 
today.
  The House of Representatives has agreed to accept without change the 
bill we have passed. The President has agreed to sign that legislation.
  I was saddened last night to be reading through my mail and to come 
across a 29-page document that I believe has been distributed by the 
Republican National Committee. There is a picture of Senator Harry Reid 
on the cover, along with our former leader, Senator Tom Daschle. The 
caption under the picture says: ``Who is Harry Reid?'' And below that 
we read: ``Sen. Minority Leader determined to obstruct President Bush's 
agenda.'' For the next 28, 29 pages, this document is an attempt to 
identify Harry Reid or to try to define who he is and where he is from, 
his values. I think it is 29 pages of something more akin to venom.
  If we are interested in building on the bipartisanship that 
characterized this week's debate and today's vote on class action 
reform, those goals are not enhanced or strengthened by this kind of 
tactic.
  I say to my Republican friends--and I don't believe this came from 
anybody in this Chamber, but it is from someone our Republicans know 
and work with, people who work for the President or indirectly--if you 
want Democrats to work with you and find common ground on issues such 
as class action or energy or asbestos or other difficult issues, 
bankruptcy, this is not the way to do it. If you want to make sure that 
we have obstructionism, that we have a lack of bipartisanship, if you 
want to ensure that the climate of the last several years where we got 
so little done returns, this is the way to do it.
  Whoever is responsible for this, let me just say: Shame on you. 
Republicans can do better than this. And to the extent that Democrats 
are responsible for this kind of behavior on our side, shame on us.
  I came here 4 years ago from Delaware, which is a little State, such 
as the State of the Presiding Officer. In our State we have a history 
of Democrats and Republicans working across the aisle, trying to find 
common ground and, more often than not, succeeding. This sort of thing 
would not be tolerated in my State by either Democrats or Republicans. 
This is not the way we do business. One of the reasons Delaware is so 
successful is because of that bipartisan tradition that is part of our 
fiber.
  I hope that we won't see this kind of attack on our leader, and I 
certainly hope we don't see it on the Republican leader. The 
Republicans are better than this. So are the Democrats.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The remarks of Mr. Craig pertaining to the introduction of S. 359 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')

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