Political Quotes

“It is Valentine's Day, and we have all spent the evening together, which is kind of funny. We did it in the service of keeping the government open with a bill that funds the government in a strong, bipartisan vote, and that is a good thing. But, Madam Speaker, Valentine's Day will never again be a truly happy day because, of course, it is the 1-year anniversary of the Douglas shootings in Florida in which 17 young people, with their lives ahead of them, had those lives snuffed out at the end of a gun. It is a particularly poignant moment for me and for those of us from Connecticut because we still can't forget, of course, the 20 children, 6 to 7 years old, and six adult staff who lost their lives in December of 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. So, Madam Speaker, I just rise to point out that we are hearing a lot tonight about an emergency declaration; and if 30,000 to 40,000 Americans, including these young angels, losing their lives every single year is not an emergency, I don't know what is. This House, after 8 years of inaction and pathetic moments of silence, moved a bill, H.R. 8, for universal background checks out of committee yesterday. The least we can do as an institution is to take the small step of passing that bill into law to keep young and all Americans safe. ____________________”