Political Quotes

“I come to the floor to talk about the possibility of a government shutdown and to say that such an alternative will be very hurtful for the people of this country. I was here when the government was shut down before by another Republican Speaker, and I can tell you that my small businesspeople around Yosemite National Park, for example, who count on tourism still remember the sting of losing over $200 million because people had to cancel their trips. That is one example. I know Superfund site cleanups were halted in their tracks. We had issues at the borders. We had a whole series of problems. It seems to me it is a reckless way to go, but it also seems to me the House Republicans want us to have a government shutdown. Why do I say that? I say that because Republicans gave the Speaker of the House an ovation when he informed them ``to begin preparing for a possible shutdown.'' An ovation. I would hope we would reserve our ovations for our leaders when they tell us that because of our work in funding the National Institutes of Health, we now have a cure for cancer. I would like to have an ovation about that. I would like to have an ovation for our firefighters and our first responders who are brave every single day. I would like to have an ovation for them. I do not think having an ovation because we might have a government shutdown is appropriate, but it was an honest response. That is what they want. One has to ask why. Why do they want this?…”