Political Quotes

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object. I have to ask myself, why now? Why does the junior Senator from Missouri bring this bill to the floor of the U.S. Senate today? When you think back, this matter has been considered. Originally, the guidelines were considered in 1984. The question of child pornography came back to us in 2003. In 2005, there was a Supreme Court case about applying the guidelines on sentencing to these types of cases--a case known as Booker. We know that in 2005, that decision was handed down. We know that in 2012, the Sentencing Commission said to Congress and to the world that you need to do something here. These guidelines that you promulgated don't reflect the reality of today. We know, as well, that the guidelines were written--some were written in an era when the materials we are talking about were physical materials. And we now live in the world of internet and access to not just tens and hundreds but thousands of images, if that is your decision. And all these things have happened, and we come here today--today. I don't know exactly how many years the Senator from Missouri has been in the Senate, but to my knowledge, this is his first bill on this subject that he has presented in the last few weeks. And I wonder why--why now? Are there valid questions about sentencing guidelines? Certainly, there is no question about it. I said as much, and he quoted me.…”