Patricia Schroeder: “I come to the well to join the gentlewoman from San Francisco in saying that the people I represent in Denver, CO, also…”

“I come to the well to join the gentlewoman from San Francisco in saying that the people I represent in Denver, CO, also send their very, very strongest sympathy and condolences to the tremendous tragedy that has been inflicted upon the people in Oklahoma City. As my colleagues know, I have many Federal employees in Denver, CO, and I think they have felt really under the gun literally of late. People have been so free with bashing bureaucrats 24 hours a day, like they were faceless, they were nameless, they are familyless, and maybe this will kind of calm us all down, and bring us to our senses, and point out that these are human beings, that they are trying very, very hard to do something that this country has done better than almost any other country on the planet, and that is provide very distinguished, high quality service through the Federal Government. Now that is not a politically popular thing to say. That is not an applause line on today's talk show circuit. But let us talk a bit about the Federal Government and its long distinguished history.”