Political Quotes

“I am always honored to be in this Chamber, and I feel immensely privileged to participate in any debate. But I must say, Mr. President, that the average American listening to the colloquy that has been conducted just within the past few minutes would regard it somewhat in disbelief, maybe dismay, because the Presiding Officer is absolutely right that the people of our States are literally dying as a result of the heroin and opioid epidemic that has created a public health hurricane, a crisis of untold proportion. This body should and hopefully will pass a bill that will help to address that public health crisis. It is only a downpayment, only a first step, and only effective if accompanied by funding, an emergency supplemental necessary to provide the real resources to address this problem. But this body is capable of passing that bill and still debating whether there should be a hearing and vote on the President's Supreme Court nominee. The voting on the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, also known as CARA, is within the control of the majority. That is a simple fact. As Ronald Reagan said, facts are stubborn things. The fact is that control of the votes on that measure are within the prerogative of the majority. In the meantime, the majority also has the power and authority to say we will have a hearing and a vote on the President's Supreme Court nominee; we will do our job. That is what Senators are elected to do.…”