He is under a great deal of pressure from industry to get a bill passed quickly and with a month-long recess coming up next week, wants to fit this feather into his cap to use on the campaign trail after vacation. The Citizens for Sensible Safeguards have been diligent about keeping the online world informed on a daily basis as to the progress on this bill. Their position is that it is a totally unsalvageable bill. Regardless of what compromises are struck, this bill should go down to defeat. Given the political reality, however, a second objective is to keep as many Senators opposed to the bill as possible which would later give the President stronger grounds for a veto.
All alternatives are to be weighed.
The chosen option is subject to litigation over whether it was the optimal choice. The overload this will certainly cause on the agency will result in many good rules evaporating. The votes on this bill are very close. It appears Dole is trying to attract the 2 or 3 Democratic votes he needs by developing individual amendments. The Democrats sent the Republicans a letter indicating that they intend to look at the bill as a whole rather than it parts but identifies five major issues that, if changed, would make the bill acceptable.