Political Quotes

“I thank my friend, because I have to say that I did notice broad support for this when it came up. The Senator from Massachusetts certainly worked on it, as chairman of the committee at that time. Very few spoke out against it. It is hard for me to believe, as the Senator has pointed out, that this is not some kind of political attack. Because President Clinton said during his campaign, just as the Peace Corps, which sent our young people abroad, was so effective in helping people abroad, let us have that in America where we have problems in our schools, where we have problems in our nursing homes, where these young people can give something back and have a sense of community and of giving back. And so the Daschle amendment, as my friend points out, will restore this funding. I will tell you one story about my visit to a school in Los Angeles, where I meet with an AmeriCorps volunteer and some of the students in a pretty tough school. This school is made up of kids who were basically first-generation Americans. Their parents work in the garment district in Los Angeles in very, very tough conditions, minimum wage conditions. And, of course, that is another issue, I say to Senator Kennedy, that he has lead the fight on. We have opposition from the Republicans, unanimously. God forbid we should raise the minimum wage, which is at a 40-year low in terms of purchasing power.”