Political Quotes

“I congratulate Senator Schumer for his diligent work on this effort to help the Senate do a better job with its responsibilities of advice and consent. As the chairman of the Rules Committee, he and I have been working together at the direction of Senator Reid and Senator McConnell to come up with a consensus about how to do this. Our colleagues, all 100, have agreed that we can move on to the bill and debate any relevant amendment, which has not happened very often around here, and is exactly the way the Senate ought to work. So I thank Senator Schumer for taking on this difficult task. It is not a glamorous task, but it is one that hopefully will make the Senate more effective. If we are more effective, we can do a better job of dealing with the debt, of helping to make it easier and cheaper to create private sector jobs, of coming up with an energy policy that helps us find more American energy and use less, and regain respect from the American people who have given us the privilege of serving here. I start this discussion with our Constitution, which, as the late Senator Byrd used to suggest, we should all carry around with us. Perhaps the most celebrated constitutional duty of the United States Senate is our responsibility to provide advice and consent. It is in article II, section 2, of the Constitution.…”