[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 72 (Thursday, June 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S5610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               AL-ZARQAWI

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I certainly underscore the statement of the 
distinguished majority leader. This is a good day for the U.S. military 
and especially our intelligence community. We should feel very good 
about this. The mission we are talking about, the successful outcome, 
is a testament to the bravery, the skill, and the determination of 
those dedicated men and women on the front lines. This is hard to say 
about any human being, but he got what he deserved. Anyone who aligns 
himself with him should know they could await a similar fate as long as 
they engage in terror.
  I was very pleased to hear the President's statement. It was 
measured. We all recognize there are a lot of difficult days ahead for 
the United States and Iraqi forces, but having a Security Minister, a 
Defense Minister, and an Interior Minister makes it that much closer to 
when we can start drawing down the troops.


                 Defense Authorization and Immigration

  I look forward--I hope in the near future, and I am confident that 
will be the case--to working on our Defense authorization bill, which 
is something we need to do.
  I also say through the Chair to the distinguished majority leader, 
this is important for our colleagues. We are trying to work something 
out to get the immigration reform bill to conference with the House. 
People think we spend a lot time on minutia, all this procedural stuff, 
but that is the way it is. People are going to have to be patient. We 
are trying to get a vehicle to go to the House where we have assurances 
that it will be an immigration bill and not a tax bill. We do not have 
that worked out yet. I say to my colleagues and through the Chair to 
the distinguished majority leader, as he knows, negotiations have 
started. We are trying to work it out.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, to respond through the Chair to the 
Democratic leader--and actually our colloquy, in essence, is to our 
colleagues--we recognize the importance, both of us, both sides of the 
aisle, of getting this bill to conference. We have passed a bill that 
reflected the will of the Senate. Not everyone agreed with it. I 
thought we had a very good process we should be proud of in terms of 
debate and amendment and allowing the people's will to be discussed and 
voted upon.
  The next step is getting to conference. We do not need to go into the 
technical aspects, but it is a challenge to get it there in a way that 
gives all of the guarantees, but with those guarantees the goal will be 
to have an immigration bill that stays on immigration. That is exactly 
what the Democratic leader and I are working on, and we are making 
progress in that regard.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say also that the problem is one person 
can throw a monkey wrench into the process. We have to try to work it 
out so no wrenches are thrown.
  Mr. President, I ask consent that Senator Stabenow from Michigan be 
recognized for up to 2 minutes.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Michigan is recognized.

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