[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16958]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   COMPLETING THE WORK OF THE SENATE

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I have to add a few comments to what was 
previously said about needing to move forward because I sincerely 
believe we need to move forward with the work of the Senate.
  The biggest work we have before us is finishing the appropriations 
bills--$1.7 trillion of spending--and we ought to spend a few minutes 
debating that. If you will recall, before we left, one of the 
difficulties we were having was even getting the opportunity to debate 
those bills; There were filibusters prohibiting the right to debate the 
bills--extremely long filibusters. That was debate in itself, but it 
didn't allow the work of the Senate to proceed to appropriate the $1.7 
trillion. We need to pass the bills, get them brought up; we need to 
have them discussed and have relevant amendments put on the bills. We 
need to get that work out of the way first.
  I can't help but comment a little on the Patients' Bill of Rights. 
The conference committee has been working on that. They were making 
great progress until it looked as if it might not be an issue anymore. 
Then it was brought up for a vote again and again using the original 
version, not the compromise version that had been worked out over a 
long period of very difficult work.
  So we have a choice: We can have issues or we can have solutions. It 
just takes the two sides getting together and moving forward.
  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. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5 
minutes in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________