{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11854", "2000-12-15", 106, 2, null, null, "CONGRATULATING SENATOR STEVENS AND SENATOR BYRD", "SENATE", "SENATE", "CONGRATULATIONS", "S11854", "S11854", "[{\"name\": \"Trent Lott\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Daniel Patrick Moynihan\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Thomas A. Daschle\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Ted Stevens\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Bob Graham\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "146 Cong. Rec. S11854", "Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]\n[Senate]\n[Page S11854]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n            CONGRATULATING SENATOR STEVENS AND SENATOR BYRD\n\n  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, let me take this occasion to thank the\ndistinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee and, in his\nabsence, Senator Byrd for his cooperation with Senator Stevens. They\nwork together as a team every day. They do an incredible job. They have\none of the toughest jobs in the Congress.\n  I have been working in budget processes now directly for I guess\nabout 20 years. When I was in the House as the whip, I sometimes\nreluctantly became a participant in those budget renegotiations. They\nwere never easy. But I don't think I have ever seen more fire,\nlightning, and thunder than we had on this bill, when you compare it to\nbills of the past that were relatively small in size and various parts.\n  It was very tough. Everything was fought over so aggressively. Things\ndidn't get in, such as Amtrak, and things got in, such as Medicare\nadjustments. But we found a way to make it happen. We found it very\nhard to let go. But the Senator from Alaska hung in there. I know he\nwas working at 2 o'clock this morning, and I know he was back at the\noffice today at 6:30. I talked to him sometime between 6:30 and 8\no'clock this morning. The amazing thing was he was sweet and charming\nand pleasant.\n  Is this the deed? Is this what we have here?\n  Mr. MOYNIHAN. I dare not ask a World War II pilot veteran to lift\nthis or the rules on ergonomics might be contradicted.\n  But I congratulate you, sir.\n  Mr. LOTT. It probably violates the rules of ergonomics, I would like\nto say, if that is the package.\n  Finally, all of us learned in the last 2 days more than we ever\nwanted to know about the Steller sea lion. What is it, and what are\nthey? Whatever they are, I am sure they are beautiful, and I know they\nappreciate the effort of the Senator from Alaska. I know about 10,000\nAlaskans appreciate the fact that their jobs will not be wiped out\nalmost instantly.\n\n  The administration was very tough, but they were protecting the\nEndangered Species Act. I don't know quite how Senator Stevens found\ncommon ground. But he did. Thank goodness for all of the persistence.\nHe is affectionately known as ``The Tasmanian Devil.'' But today he did\nthis job without his Tasmanian necktie.\n  While we get very testy with each other sometimes, we still really\nappreciate the work that is done.\n  Senator Stevens, congratulations, and I look forward to someday being\nable to know all that is in the bill.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Abraham). The Democratic leader.\n  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, this will be the last time, because I\nknow others want to speak.\n  I, too, want to congratulate the chairman and ranking member. This\nhas been a really difficult experience. He knows it. No one knows it\nbetter than he because he had to experience it as late as 3:30 last\nnight and as early as 6:30 this morning. We know because of a very\nintense debate we had within our caucus. It would not have happened\nwithout his leadership. It would not have happened without his\npersistence and the work of his staff--and the staff whom both the\nmajority leader and I have been fortunate to have serve with us as we\nhave attempted to put this package together.\n  I congratulate him. I thank him. I also congratulate the people of\nAlaska for the kind of representation they sent to Washington in the\nperson of Ted Stevens.\n  I yield the floor.\n  Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.\n  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I know others are going to take the\nfloor.\n  While the two leaders are here, I thank each of them for their\ncomments. Nothing is done in the Senate without the concurrence of the\nleadership. I know full well the help they have given us in the past\ndays and weeks which led to the final solution. I will be speaking\nabout that later.\n  I thank the Senator from Mississippi and also my friend, the Senator\nfrom South Dakota, for their help and for the sincere comments they\nmade today. They are very welcome, as far as I am concerned, and I am\nhumbled by them. I thank them very much.\n  I yield the floor.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.\n  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I appreciate the positive remarks that\nhave just been made about our leadership and those who have supported\nthem throughout these difficult 2 years, and look forward at an\nappropriate time to hearing the comments of the chairman of the\nAppropriations Committee on this legislation."]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11854"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.39283186197280884, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}