Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise in support of the Ethanol Subsidy and Tariff Repeal Act, which Senator Coburn and I are offering as an amendment to pending legislation. The other cosponsors on this amendment are Senator Webb and Senator Collins. This is identical to a bill that we have submitted. On that bill there are more cosponsors. They are Coburn, Cardin, Webb, Corker, Lieberman, Collins, Shaheen, Burr, Risch, and Toomey. I want to have the record straight that this amendment is in response to a bill which we have crafted. On Tuesday the Senate voted on the proposal but unfortunately we saw a process battle, which I spoke to on the floor, which I think overwhelmed, in some respects, the debate. That is not the case today. There are ongoing negotiations to see if it is possible to put together a solution which can bring all sides together on this amendment that we will be voting on at 2 o'clock. Thus far we do not have an agreement. However, at least one of our cosponsors of this has said to me--this is Senator Webb--that he would very much appreciate a straight up-or-down vote on Coburn-Feinstein so we know exactly where the Senate stands. It is still possible, even after that cloture vote, if we can reach a successful conclusion to the negotiation that we could have another vote and change that. Today, this is the first vote that the Senate has taken based on the merits of repealing the ethanol subsidy and tariff. In a nutshell, let me give the reasons.…”