Political Quotes

“this bill has certain exclusions in certain areas where sponsors of the bill have determined that it should not apply. Section 4 on page 12 reads that ``The provisions of this act and the amendments made by this act shall not apply to any provision in a bill, or joint resolution before Congress, and any provision in a proposed or final regulation that''--and then there is a list of six exclusions. These are important exclusions, because what the bill would do is to say where any of these six things exist, no point of order would lie, and there is not going to be any presumption that a mandate has to be funded in order to apply to State and local governments. For instance, if a mandate enforces the constitutional rights of individuals, that mandate is going to apply to State and local governments and there is not going to be any presumption of nonapplicability in the absence of a mandate. The next exclusion under section 4 is, ``If the bill or the joint resolution establishes or enforces any statutory rights that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, or handicap or disability status.'' It is that exclusion that I believe is deficient, and it is that exclusion to which my amendment is addressed. We have laws that protect people against age discrimination, which are very vital laws in this country. Those laws have been fought over, fought for, and they are vital to Americans.…”