Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Both Houses Expected to Pass Resolution

Aired October 10, 2002 - 10:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And now for the latest on Iraq. President Bush could be very close to getting the approval he wants to use force against Iraq.
The House is set to vote on a war powers resolution later today. Senate is what we're going to focus on right now. It is expected to follow suit soon, but this hour, the focus is on clearing a procedural hurdle. It sounds technical, but it's a good way to take the temperature of how the Senate might vote later on.

So, let's bring in our congressional correspondent, Kate Snow who has more from Capitol Hill -- Kate, good morning.

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. You are exactly right. What we're seeing this hour is a procedural vote. In the big scheme of things, doesn't matter too much, but it is going to be an indication of how strongly the president is going to be supported in the Senate. They're voting on whether or not to continue the debate.

Why? Because Senator Bob Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, has been trying to throw up as many hurdles as he possibly can to, as he says, "slow this train down." Right now, Republican Minority Leader Trent Lott speaking on the Senate floor. Let's take a listen to him. He is saying we've got to move on with this debate, we have got to give the president this vote.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Has listened to the American people, has listened to the Congress, has listened to the United Nations and our allies. The president came to the Congress and said, yes, I want your input. He sent up some suggested language on this resolution and it was changed once, and twice, significant changes made, at the recommendation of senators on both sides of the aisle. So he has worked with us in this effort. He encouraged our involvement and our debate. He's gone to the United Nations, and called on them to stand up to their commitment, do their job, quit passing resolutions that are not backed by a demand that it be complied with. Force if necessary. He did the job, he and his administration, including the secretary of state, Colin Powell, had worked with our allies at the United Nations, and worked with our allies around the world.

This president has made it clear that he's not going to act precipitously, but he's prepared to act. Commitment. Mr. President, I'm going to yield myself just a couple more minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection. LOTT: This president has led with commit, he has shown leadership. He is prepared to try to find a peaceful solution here, but unless we make it clear that he is committed, and we are committed, and the United Nations is committed, this problem are will not go away, and it is serious and it is imminent. It doesn't take but one person.

SNOW: Senator Trent Lott speaking on the floor of the Senate, supporting the president and the resolution.

Daryn, Senator Tom Daschle, the leader -- the Democratic leader of the Senate is going to be speaking in just a short while. We've gotten some advanced knowledge of what he is going to say. He, too, is going to come to the floor and support this resolution.

It will be the first time we've heard Tom Daschle publicly say that he plans to vote for the resolution. He will say, in part, that Saddam Hussein may not be an imminent threat, but he'll say the threat is very real.

He will also say that he was concerned at first about the way the administration wanted to handle the threat, but now, given some of the changes that have been made to the language of the resolution -- remember, the president went through a great process of working with Congress to try to tweak the language -- Daschle will say that now he feels that this resolution is one that he absolutely can live with and one that he will support when he votes later on this morning. So once the Senate gets past this key procedural vote here, Senator Byrd trying to slow them up a little bit. We do expect that to fail, though -- his efforts to fail, and we expect them to move on towards a vote. Could be today, could be tomorrow, could be over the weekend -- Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Kate, with Senator Daschle coming out and saying that he does intend to support this resolution, there might be some Americans out there who are still very concerned about this possibility, feeling like they don't have a voice in Congress. Who, besides Senator Byrd, still is that voice?

SNOW: They do have -- they do have a voice. Senator Ted Kennedy, for example, has joined Senator Byrd this morning, even coming out and saying that we cannot go it alone, that we can't go against the rest of the world.

There have been Democrats coming out, not just in the Senate, but in the House repeatedly over and over again. We expect what's going to happen, Daryn, is probably about 15 or 20 Democrats in the Senate will go ahead and vote against this resolution, including, as I mentioned, Kennedy and some other key players, like Bob Byrd.

Over in the House, we expect about 100 of the 432 House members to vote -- 100 Democrats, I should say, to vote against the resolution. So there will be some significant numbers of people voting against. But ultimately, a majority of both houses are going to vote for this resolution -- Daryn. KAGAN: Well, it looks like a go. Kate Snow on Capitol Hill, we'll be checking back with you to see how this plays out throughout the morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 10, 2002 - 10:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And now for the latest on Iraq. President Bush could be very close to getting the approval he wants to use force against Iraq.
The House is set to vote on a war powers resolution later today. Senate is what we're going to focus on right now. It is expected to follow suit soon, but this hour, the focus is on clearing a procedural hurdle. It sounds technical, but it's a good way to take the temperature of how the Senate might vote later on.

So, let's bring in our congressional correspondent, Kate Snow who has more from Capitol Hill -- Kate, good morning.

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. You are exactly right. What we're seeing this hour is a procedural vote. In the big scheme of things, doesn't matter too much, but it is going to be an indication of how strongly the president is going to be supported in the Senate. They're voting on whether or not to continue the debate.

Why? Because Senator Bob Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, has been trying to throw up as many hurdles as he possibly can to, as he says, "slow this train down." Right now, Republican Minority Leader Trent Lott speaking on the Senate floor. Let's take a listen to him. He is saying we've got to move on with this debate, we have got to give the president this vote.

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Has listened to the American people, has listened to the Congress, has listened to the United Nations and our allies. The president came to the Congress and said, yes, I want your input. He sent up some suggested language on this resolution and it was changed once, and twice, significant changes made, at the recommendation of senators on both sides of the aisle. So he has worked with us in this effort. He encouraged our involvement and our debate. He's gone to the United Nations, and called on them to stand up to their commitment, do their job, quit passing resolutions that are not backed by a demand that it be complied with. Force if necessary. He did the job, he and his administration, including the secretary of state, Colin Powell, had worked with our allies at the United Nations, and worked with our allies around the world.

This president has made it clear that he's not going to act precipitously, but he's prepared to act. Commitment. Mr. President, I'm going to yield myself just a couple more minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection. LOTT: This president has led with commit, he has shown leadership. He is prepared to try to find a peaceful solution here, but unless we make it clear that he is committed, and we are committed, and the United Nations is committed, this problem are will not go away, and it is serious and it is imminent. It doesn't take but one person.

SNOW: Senator Trent Lott speaking on the floor of the Senate, supporting the president and the resolution.

Daryn, Senator Tom Daschle, the leader -- the Democratic leader of the Senate is going to be speaking in just a short while. We've gotten some advanced knowledge of what he is going to say. He, too, is going to come to the floor and support this resolution.

It will be the first time we've heard Tom Daschle publicly say that he plans to vote for the resolution. He will say, in part, that Saddam Hussein may not be an imminent threat, but he'll say the threat is very real.

He will also say that he was concerned at first about the way the administration wanted to handle the threat, but now, given some of the changes that have been made to the language of the resolution -- remember, the president went through a great process of working with Congress to try to tweak the language -- Daschle will say that now he feels that this resolution is one that he absolutely can live with and one that he will support when he votes later on this morning. So once the Senate gets past this key procedural vote here, Senator Byrd trying to slow them up a little bit. We do expect that to fail, though -- his efforts to fail, and we expect them to move on towards a vote. Could be today, could be tomorrow, could be over the weekend -- Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Kate, with Senator Daschle coming out and saying that he does intend to support this resolution, there might be some Americans out there who are still very concerned about this possibility, feeling like they don't have a voice in Congress. Who, besides Senator Byrd, still is that voice?

SNOW: They do have -- they do have a voice. Senator Ted Kennedy, for example, has joined Senator Byrd this morning, even coming out and saying that we cannot go it alone, that we can't go against the rest of the world.

There have been Democrats coming out, not just in the Senate, but in the House repeatedly over and over again. We expect what's going to happen, Daryn, is probably about 15 or 20 Democrats in the Senate will go ahead and vote against this resolution, including, as I mentioned, Kennedy and some other key players, like Bob Byrd.

Over in the House, we expect about 100 of the 432 House members to vote -- 100 Democrats, I should say, to vote against the resolution. So there will be some significant numbers of people voting against. But ultimately, a majority of both houses are going to vote for this resolution -- Daryn. KAGAN: Well, it looks like a go. Kate Snow on Capitol Hill, we'll be checking back with you to see how this plays out throughout the morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com