Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the Senate Republicans are about to take one of the most reckless actions in Senate history. They are going to vote to blow up the American healthcare system and do I don't know what next. I want to be really clear about this. Never before has the Senate voted on major legislation that would reorder one-sixth of the American economy and impact tens of millions of American families without even knowing what the bill does. There has been no bipartisanship. There have been no hearings. Let me just say something about hearings. This may seem like sort of a process or procedural complaint, but this very much matters. Hearings matter because it is how you get experts to tell you whether your bill is any good, whether it is smart or stupid, harmful or helpful. Hearings matter because they subject your bill and the process to public scrutiny. The media is able to report on what you are up to, and your constituents know what you are up to. So it is not a small thing to complain about no hearings. In fact, you can't be a good legislator without having hearings, and you can't be an effective legislative body without conducting public hearings. We never have major legislation without hearings, but that is exactly what they are doing, and there is one very simple reason for this. They are embarrassed by what is in this bill. It is true we don't know exactly what is in this bill.…”