Eleanor Norton actually said...

"Are you saying this would have to be done at the state level? There's nothing that could be done to clarify this--the layoff took place at the Federal level."

"This is a very important point. We're different agencies here, and I wonder if any of the rest of you used this redeployment?"

"This 35-day shutdown was unheard of in American history. Our job is to make sure it doesn't happen again although, of course, we were not responsible for it."

"I applaud your creativity."