Political Quotes

“I rise first to commend Senators Specter and Harkin for their diligence and hard work on what is an enormous bill, particularly given the tight budget they had to work with. I also personally thank Senators Specter and Harkin for adopting an amendment into the managers' bill relating to scholarships for low-income and minority students and for expansion of positive behavioral interventions and support within schools to encourage better discipline. I thank them and their staffs for working with us on this amendment. In addition, it is my understanding that there has been a meeting of the minds between the two sides of the aisle around what may end up being the most significant aspect of the Labor H appropriations bill. Yesterday, I joined Senators Harkin, Kennedy, and a number of my colleagues in introducing an avian flu amendment. I know we had been able to attach an amendment to the DOD appropriations bill that made significant headway in funding the work that needs to be done to prepare this nation for pandemic flu. Obviously, this Labor H bill was the more appropriate vehicle to fund preparedness activities. The fact that Senator Specter and Senator Harkin have agreed to work something out on this issue is extremely important. I will mention a couple of things that I believe make this avian flu amendment so significant.…”