Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. I agree completely with my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern). How can we possibly be having a meaningful debate about our national defense policy when we are not even allowed to have a vote or a debate on the war that this country happens to be engaged in at this given time? It is a pretense for a discussion that while still important is omitting the single largest public policy issue that our constituents are interested in and that men and women are putting their lives at risk for related to defense. There were 131 germane amendments, including the amendment offered by my colleagues, Mr. McGovern and Mr. Jones, relating to the war in Afghanistan, and 130 others that are rejected under this rule--not even allowed a minute of discussion on the floor, no less a vote. What would it take to allow a full discussion of those issues? Well, 131 amendments, and customarily, even if we gave each 10 minutes, that is just 2 or 3 days of legislative time about our entire national defense policy. Isn't that what we owe this country as our Nation's deliberative body here, as Representatives of the United States Congress, to discuss for 2 or 3 days all the issues that Members on both sides of the aisle have brought forward relating to defense?…”