Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise in support of the amendment offered by my old friend, the Senator from Maryland--my neighbor, Senator Van Hollen--and also my young friend, Senator Ernst, and maybe one or two others that I am not aware of. The amendment offered by our colleagues requires public-private partnership projects that receive loans from USDOT to obtain something called surety bonds. Surety bonds are a proven tool for ensuring that a loan recipient has appropriate payment and performance protections in place. By requiring these bonds, this amendment would protect workers, would protect suppliers, and guarantee that any subcontractors, suppliers, and workers would receive the payment they deserve for their work on the project, even if the borrower were to default. The legislation is based on bipartisan, bicameral legislation that is supported by a dozen organizations, including associations that represent the interests of minority-owned and woman-owned small businesses. I urge my colleagues to support it. I yield to my colleague, the ranking member of the EPW Committee. I just want to say how pleased I am with the progress we have made today. A lot of amendments were offered and considered. We had the opportunity to vote on them, accept some, some not accepted. But the spirit was good. There is a good spirit in here.…”