Political Quotes

“Mr. President, before we vote on WRDA this afternoon, I want to express my strong support for this bill, S. 4367, which my friend and colleague Shelley Moore Capito has graciously named in my honor. You could have knocked me over with a feather when we came to the end of the markup a couple of months ago in our committee on this legislation, and I asked if any of our members had another amendment they wanted to offer. No one spoke up but you, and you said that you would like to offer an amendment to name this bill in my honor. It is undeserved but very much appreciated as I prepare to weigh anchor, as we say in the Navy, and sail off into the sunrise with my wife Martha. The Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, also known as WRDA--Water Resources Development Act--is the product of not days, not weeks, but months of hard work and partnership with you, Senator Capito, and your staff gathered here today as well as our House colleagues Congressman Sam Graves and Congressman Rick Larsen. This year, I am pleased to say that our legislation includes far more--far more--than just the WRDA legislation itself. This package also reauthorizes the Economic Development Administration for the first time in--get this--20 years. It also reauthorizes our Federal regional Commissions and includes important transportation and Federal building provisions to increase transparency and to reduce Federal waste.…”