Political Quotes

On the recordMarch 19, 2013
all across America people are calling their cable providers and they are asking if they can get a refund for C-SPAN coverage of the Senate. There seems to be some concerns that there is no serious debate underway, no serious votes being taken, and the hours just continue to flow by. I can understand the frustration of the American public watching this Chamber. We are going through a 30-hour interval. The Senate is kind of designed on 30-hour intervals, and this is the 30-hour interval before we enter the next 30-hour interval in the hopes that we will ultimately get to a vote. Does it have to be this way? Of course not. It should not be this way. I understand the depth of feeling some Senators have about a variety of issues, and they have come to the floor to express them. In fact, I even agree with some of their positions. But there comes a point where you have to say: All right, I did not win my battle today. I am not going to get my day in court. Let's at least go on with the business of the Senate because, you see, we have an important responsibility ahead of us. Senator Murray just spoke before me. She is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. She has a Herculean task, and she is up to it. In fact, she has shown herself to be a very able leader of the Budget Committee in producing a budget proposal for the next fiscal year. It is a balanced proposal. It is one that I think is sensible. I have some background in this, at least by way of avocation.…
Said by
Dick Durbin
Democratic · Illinois
Source
govinfo.gov
Mar 19, 2013

Share

More from Dick Durbin

Aug 29, 2026

Senator Duckworth and I helped to secure $18.3 million in federal funding for the Southern Illinois Multimodal Station to better connect families, students, and small businesses to local and national destinations.

duckworth.senate.gov
Aug 17, 2026

Five years at $200 million amounts to $1 billion… it represents 48 hours in the war in Iran.

durbin.senate.gov
Aug 17, 2026

Nominations hearings, like this one today, are an essential part of the Senate’s role in providing advice and consent on presidential nominees. This constitutional duty is a critical check on the Executive Branch. And it has never been…

durbin.senate.gov
Aug 29, 2026

Through these hearings, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is intentionally overcrowding dockets with little notice to immigrants in an effort to manufacture significant numbers of removal…

durbin.senate.gov

Other voices in this conversation