Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Texas for yielding. I wish to thank Senator Durbin for all the work he has done on food safety for so many years. He has been a leader. He has prompted us and prodded us to get to this point, and we have a good bipartisan bill. I wish to take a few moments to talk about it before the vote that will be coming up in the next hour. The aim of the Food Safety Modernization Act, as it is called, is very simply to bring our Nation's antiquated and increasingly inadequate inspection service into the 21st century. This bill takes a comprehensive approach to reforming the current system. I am pleased to report that this bill is a product of strong bipartisan collaboration on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Again, I wish to particularly thank Senator Durbin and Senator Gregg who have worked together over many years to produce this excellent bill. I also wish to thank our ranking member, Senator Enzi, for his leadership in helping to bring this bill to the floor, as well as to my good friend Senator Dodd who has been working on this bill also from the beginning and adding his expertise, especially on food allergies. I also thank Senator Burr, who has been personally involved in this entire process. Senators often speak about the importance of addressing kitchen table issues here in the Senate--the practical, everyday concerns of working Americans and their families.…”