Political Quotes

“I join my other colleagues in thanking the Senators who joined us in the vote earlier today. My profound thanks go to all who voted among the 68 to enable this debate to go forward, to provide and permit debate and votes in coming days, and to enable the families of Newtown to have a vote; to enable the victims of Tucson and Virginia Tech and Aurora and Oak Ridge to have a vote. Voting is what we are sent here to do. The American people hold us accountable when we have votes. Votes enable us to be held accountable and those votes will take place. The vote today is exciting and encouraging and energizing, but it is only a first step. The critical test and profoundly significant steps will be next week when we vote on the bipartisan compromise that our colleagues have fashioned, that Senators Manchin and Toomey have together forged on national criminal background checks. That is not necessarily as strong as many of us might have preferred. That is not a final or ultimate result on this issue for all time. But it is a solid foundation and a path forward to enable more bipartisan compromise, more momentum and impetus. The brave families from Newtown who were part of this discussion this week deserve our thanks as well. They turned the tide. They faced our colleagues in meetings, visit after visit, conversation after conversation--painful, demanding, grief-stricken in recalling those hours after that horrific, unspeakable tragedy.…”