"The moratorium to me isn't what's important," he said.
Japan would also like the moratorium to be relaxed.
But enough time has passed, and enough foul-ups have occurred, for the moratorium to end.
However, at the same time, broadening the moratorium to include existing concessions is "off the table".
A few months later, Congress allowed a parallel Congressional moratorium to expire.
The Interior Department began working on a more flexible moratorium to answer his concerns.
A three-quarters majority was required for the moratorium to be overturned, however.
But Congress imposed a moratorium to delay the ban, and the pink packets of Sweet'N Low remained on restaurant tables.
CHANGING WASHINGTON Earmark Moratorium: Call on Congress to institute an earmark moratorium to constrain government spending during the financial crisis.
They say they imposed the moratorium to review regulations and make sure the industry develops in an orderly way.
Restricting the moratorium to agricultural districts instead of making it townwide would make such a suspension more acceptable, he said.
