Political Quotes

“Reclaiming my time, you did even better than the education conference committee. We were 39-1. There was actually one person on that conference committee who didn't support it. What a great job that you and your colleagues did. The education conference committee was the first chance in 7\1/2\ years that I had to serve on a conference committee; my friend from Georgia, his first chance during his time in Congress to do it. And that is a procedural matter. When the American people hear, oh, conference committee, that sounds procedural. Yet another committee; what does that mean? But the product of these committees are substantial bills. {time} 0930 Part of the problem here in this institution is that it is a bicameral legislature, and the House and the Senate don't talk to each other enough. The formal way they talk to one another is through a conference committee. What that means is there are Senators and Representatives on the same committee working on the same bill, rather than what happens too often around here where the House passes one bill and the Senate, if they pass a bill at all, passes a very different bill, and never the twain shall meet. Mr. Speaker, thanks to this procedural conference committee, the differences between the House and the Senate have been worked out. So we were on the education bill yesterday. The Senate will likely consider that exact same bill next week, which means it will likely go to President Obama's desk before Christmas.…”