Political Quotes

“I am going to speak today on a bill that we have introduced, H.R. 1855. This is a bill that amends the District of Columbia Code, title XI of the D.C. Code, but basically what it does is it allows Dr. Elizabeth Morgan and her daughter Ellen to return to the United States. This bill is the product of my own deepest feelings and knowledge, and as a society, we are far more sensitive to the pain that children can feel than we were when I was coming of age. Legislative bodies across the land at every level have recognized the importance of listening more carefully to what children say, and the laws that we now pass arise from an enormous and growing body of evidence that in many cases of domestic stress and conflict, it is too easy to lose sight of who is being harmed. Commonsense actions to slice through the Gordian knot of pride and anger can often prevent permanent emotional damage and allow wounds to heal as quickly and completely as possible. That is what H.R. 1855 attempts to do. That is all H.R. 1855 intends to do. Domestic conflict and stress can take many forms. Its victims are too often unintended and innocent. As a local jurist has said in connection with the very situation that gives rise to this bill, when elephants fight, the grass suffers, so I believe that I would not be true to the great lessons I have learned in life were I to just take the easy way out when confronted with a difficult situation involving a child's life.”