Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Merkley. I guess there are four new Members of the Senate serving on the Banking Committee. Senator Merkley, Senator Warner, Senator Tester, and Senator Bennet are all new Members of the Senate from their respective States of Oregon, Virginia, Montana, and Colorado. To be thrown into what has been the largest undertaking of the Banking Committee, certainly in my three decades here--and many have argued going back almost 100 years--was certainly an awful lot to ask. I have already pointed out the contribution Senator Warner has made to this bill. But I must say as well that Senator Bennet of Colorado has been invaluable in his contributions. I just mentioned Senator Tester a moment ago for his contribution on talking about rural America and the importance of those issues. And Senator Merkley, as a member of the committee, on matters we included here dealing particularly with the mortgage reforms, the underwriting standards, the protections people have to go through, and credit cards as well--we passed the credit card bill--again, it was Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon who played a critical role in that whole debate not to mention, of course, working with Carl Levin, one of the more senior Members here, having served for many years in the Senate. But the Merkley-Levin, Levin-Merkley provisions in this bill have added substantial contributions to this effort. So I thank him for his contribution.”