Political Quotes

“I come to the floor this morning to reflect on and remember a dear friend and colleague, someone who served this Nation in this body for 30 years, someone who has already been remembered by many others as a trailblazer, someone who left a lasting one on this Senate, on her State of California, on our Nation. When I first came to this Senate, now 13 years ago, Senator Feinstein was someone whose career I had long followed and long admired. She was elected to this body when I was a law student, in the Year of the Woman, when, following a contentious hearing, there was a concerted effort made to recruit some of the strongest, most capable potential candidates to join this body, and Senator Feinstein was certainly among those incredible leaders. I had the honor, the blessing, of being in small rooms in negotiations with her within my first few years, and I saw behind the scenes what anyone who followed her publicly got to know about Senator Feinstein. She was tough. She was fierce. She was determined. She was prepared. She had always done the reading. She studied the details of every bill, every piece of legislation, everything we voted on. When I had the chance to join the Appropriations Committee, and I approached her once here on the floor to ask her consent to amend the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee bill she was floor managing, she turned, stopped, and said: Are you asking my permission to file an amendment to my bill?…”