Political Quotes

“I appreciate this presentation. We had one of those very important moments to recognize the long service of one of our colleagues. As we listen to those eulogies, I think all of us should be reminded of the awesome responsibilities that we share here in the House of Representatives. Bill Young, obviously, felt those responsibilities deeply. He carried them out for an extraordinary length of time--43 years. We are thankful for his service, for his memory, and also for what he has taught us about perseverance and steadfastness and also, as you can tell from the various eulogies, about working across the aisle. Working across the aisle and finding the middle ground is what I want to spend some time on tonight. Like my 434 colleagues, when we finished voting last Thursday, we all left this Chamber, I think, in a rather somber mood, realizing that 16 days had passed and our government was shut down and there was the likelihood of damage to America and Americans. When we got home, I suspect all of us--and I know this certainly was my case--were confronted by our constituents. They were not happy. In fact, they were angry. They were angry that their government--the government of the strongest, most powerful Nation in the world--wasn't operating because its legislative body had failed. And we had failed to find the common ground; we had failed to protect this Nation and Americans.…”