[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12987]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THIS WEEK IN THE SENATE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, let me say we have had some really good work 
this week in the Senate. When I came here on Monday and indicated we 
would have to work into the weekend, that wasn't just for fluff. I 
really thought we would have to do that because we had so much to do. 
We were heavily involved in WRDA, a bill that was so important to be 
done, but a lot of hiccups come in complex legislation like that. We 
were able to finish that in a few days. I was concerned about the 
budget and the time limits that are statutory in that regard. We 
completed that. I was concerned about the supplemental, getting 
something to the House, which was a tremendously difficult job. We were 
able to get that done. Finally, there has been an agreement in 
principle on immigration, which we will take up, I hope, Monday 
evening.
  Any one of these things gives no bragging rights to Democrats or 
Republicans, but it gives bragging rights to Democrats and Republicans 
because none of this could have been done but for the recognition that 
you have to work together to get things done. There is no better 
example of that--and I said it briefly on the floor yesterday--than 
Senator Boxer and Senator Inhofe. They are really two political 
opposites in most everything. But they are also experienced 
legislators, both having served in the House and in the Senate. Senator 
Boxer is chairman of the committee now, and Senator Inhofe was chairman 
of the committee. Senator Inhofe knew how important WRDA is. He worked 
together with Senator Boxer, and vice versa, and they got that done. 
That is tremendously good work.
  On the budget, I boast about the managers all the time because I 
think they work well together--Senators Conrad and Gregg. What they 
were able to piece together with this budget was very difficult. It 
wasn't mechanical, but it was difficult.
  On the supplemental, I give a little credit to me, a little credit to 
Senator McConnell, and the rest of the credit to the Senate because we 
were able to get that done and get a bill to conference with the House. 
We have had a number of meetings with the President's chief of staff--
Senator McConnell and I, Speaker Pelosi, and other representatives of 
the President. We hope to be able to complete that very important 
conference report by next week at this time.
  Finally, on the immigration issue, at this stage, I have kept this to 
myself, but Senator McConnell was one of those who urged me to stick to 
my timeline, stick to the 2 weeks. He said, ``If we are going to get 
anything done, you have to set a time limit.'' We did that. I don't 
know if the immigration legislation will bear fruit and we will be able 
to pass it. At least we have something to talk about as a legislative 
vehicle on the floor that is bipartisan in nature. You may not agree on 
the respective parts, but that can be debated. We are going to start 
Monday night.
  The reason I mention that this evening is all Senators and all staffs 
are watching. The players on that--Senators Specter, Leahy, Kennedy, 
Kyl, and others--have recognized they are going to have to work into 
the night. If we are going to finish this bill next week, we are going 
to have to work nights, and that doesn't mean 6:30 at night. We have 
one Senate event that we are locked into Tuesday evening, but that 
doesn't mean the managers cannot work while we do that. It is an event 
at the Botanical Gardens for Senators. So we are going to work long, 
hard hours to complete that most important legislation.
  In short, this was a very good week for the Senate and for the 
American people.
  We need a lot more weeks like this, and we hope to do that in the 
future.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, if I can add briefly, I commend the 
majority leader for this week. I think we did have a good week. I am 
particularly pleased that we seem to be on a glidepath to completion of 
the important troop funding bill. There is a bipartisan agreement we 
need to have a signed bill providing funding for the troops before 
Memorial Day, and the distinguished majority leader and myself, and the 
President's representative, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, have been 
working toward that end and will continue to do that tomorrow in an 
additional meeting with the Speaker and Leader Boehner from the House.
  I, too, am pleased a bipartisan agreement on immigration appears to 
be coming together. On the day I was elected Republican leader, I said 
I hope this Congress will do two important things that will make a 
difference for our country. I thought the divided Government was 
uniquely situated to tackle both of these issues. One of them was 
Social Security. I am not as optimistic on that issue as I would like 
to be. And the other issue is immigration. There is reason for optimism 
today that the Senate, on a bipartisan basis, will come together and 
pass a landmark piece of legislation. We will find out next week, but I 
think the compromise announced today certainly gives room for optimism 
that might occur.
  I did support the majority leader's decision to turn to that issue 
before Memorial Day. I thought it gave us the best chance of passing 
legislation, and with those kinds of deadlines, it gave us the best 
chance of coming together. Hopefully, that process of coming together 
was achieved earlier today.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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