Political Quotes

“I just want to thank him for all his work. We have spent a lot of time in the last year or so on the health care debate, where we sat next to each other day after day going through all of that. We, obviously, go back a lot longer than that. The Senator from Iowa and I arrived here on the very same day. The pages have oftentimes asked me when did I get here, and I have said: Thomas Jefferson was President when I arrived. It wasn't quite that long ago, but we arrived together on the same day, 35 years ago, in the House of Representatives, and we have been great friends and colleagues. No one cares more about not only his State but people all across this country who struggle. He is the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, affecting millions of Americans, and I have a family member who benefitted from Senator Harkin's work. I wish there had been someone around in the 1930s when she was born who might have stood up and recognized her talents and ability. Fortunately, she grew up in a family where they did some things and she ended up helping restore the American Montessori system of teaching as an early childhood development specialist. But had she been born under different circumstances, I suspect she would have been doing piecemeal work somewhere. So there is a lot for which our country has to thank the Senator from Iowa. I appreciate his efforts on this amendment and thank him for his general concerns on the bill as well.”