Political Quotes

“Madam President, before I complete the following closeout here, I want to make a comment this morning. What we have just done is move consideration of the energy bill--the Energy Policy Modernization Act--from today to tomorrow. It is a little bit unusual, but given what we have seen here, not only in Washington, DC, but all around the East Coast with the weather, the blizzard of 2016, it is understandable that we would allow for a period of time for our colleagues to return to the U.S. Senate. I think it is more than an understatement to say that it has been challenging to travel, challenging to move. I think it is worth noting, however, that the Acting President pro tempore, the Senator from Maine, and myself, the Senator from Alaska--both kind of the bookends of the country, arctic States, if you will; certainly Alaska is, and Maine is right up there--are here braving the elements. I might also note for a little historical perspective that as we convene this morning, and you look around the Chamber, the Acting President pro tempore is female, our Parliamentarian and all of our clerks are female, our floor managers are female, and all of our pages are female. This was not orchestrated in any way, shape or form. We came in this morning, looked around and thought: something is different this morning--different in a good way, I might add. But something is genuinely different, and I think it is genuinely fabulous.…”