Political Quotes

“I will be very brief. I feel so grateful and so proud that the tradition of our committee and this Senate has been maintained on our 51st consecutive Defense authorization bill, a bill that is so vitally important to the Nation. I am grateful to all of our colleagues for working on a bipartisan basis through the normal and open legislative process to produce this bill. I am grateful to stand here with my partner, Senator McCain--we worked together on this bill--to all of the members of the committee, to our staff and the floor and cloakroom staff. We passed over 100 amendments. It was a process that allowed us to be just as accommodating as we humanly could. One person I wish to single out as someone who has worked for the committee for 41 years--this will be her last year--is Chris Cowart. She is our chief clerk, and I would like to take an additional 2 seconds to mention her name as a symbol of the staff for whom we are so grateful. I don't know if Senator McCain is here, but I know that I speak for him about our staffs and about our colleagues on the committee. I yield the floor. The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read the third time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall it pass?”