Political Quotes

“Mr. President, before I rise to speak on behalf of the nomination of Dr. John Fleming to be Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the Department of Commerce, I remind my Republican friends that the pot calls the kettle black once again. Whatever harm or abuse has been done to this nominee or other nominees pales by comparison to what happened to one of the most distinguished judges in America, Merrick Garland, who was nominated, literally, a year before the end of the last President's administration. He never got a hearing, never got a vote, no committee--none of that. There are no clean hands. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise in support of the nomination of John Fleming to be our Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the Department of Commerce. In that role, Dr. Fleming would oversee the Economic Development Administration--we call it the EDA. In my home State, we benefited a great deal from EDA in recent years. We are grateful for them. EDA provides money used to leverage other moneys for economic development purposes. If I had more time, I would be able to give you some good examples. When Dr. Fleming was a Member of the House of Representatives, he voted repeatedly to eliminate the Economic Development Administration. That is why I initially held deep reservations about his nomination. When Dr. Fleming and I met before his hearing last year, he assuaged most of my concerns.…”