[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1539]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, on the stimulus package, I have had a number 
of conversations with the Republican leader this morning. I have a way 
forward, but we don't have a way forward yet. We are going to see if we 
can continue working so that we have a way forward. We are having some 
discussions. He is indisposed for an hour. When he gets back, we will 
meet again.
  All Senators should know that we have to finish FISA this week. 
Hopefully, we can finish it today and, if not, tomorrow. We have to 
finish it this week. As for the stimulus package, it would be good to 
finish it today, but we may not be able to. Procedurally, we may have 
to wait until tomorrow or maybe even Tuesday. But we are working on 
that.
  Like I said, I have a way forward, but we don't have a way forward. I 
will try to see if we can have a situation where it is ``we'' rather 
than ``I.'' I hope that works out well.
  As I indicated last night, we had a good bipartisan vote. It would 
have been better if we had one more bipartisan vote, but it was still 
something we should all feel good about. We are trying to move this 
country forward. The economy is in real trouble now, as indicated in 
today's press. Now the Fed is worried about inflation, and in addition 
to that, we have other countries worried about inflation--European 
countries. It is really a time of trouble. That is why we have to 
continue to work on the stimulus package to see if we can come up with 
something.

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