Political Quotes

“Madam President, this afternoon is a historic moment in the history of this great Chamber. Our beloved and now departed Senator from West Virginia, Robert C. Byrd, will be succeeded in office with a temporary appointment from West Virginia, and we will swear in his successor at 2:15 this afternoon. A few minutes later, the Senate will take up a historic measure. It is a question of whether we should provide unemployment benefits to the millions of Americans who have lost their job, through no fault of their own, and are victims of this recession. In my home State, 115,000 people have fallen off the unemployment rolls while we have debated whether to extend unemployment benefits. Across America, 1.2 million Americans have lost basic unemployment benefits. What do these benefits mean to these families out of work? Literally, bread on the table; literally, whether the lights go on when you flick the switch; literally, whether they have a roof over their heads. This did not use to be a political issue. We did not get involved in a partisan debate about unemployment benefits when it came to other Presidents. But under this President, Barack Obama, the Republicans have decided to take a stand and the stand says this: When it comes to people who are victims of this recession, we will not help them unless we find some way to add a new tax or cut some spending in other areas. That was never the standard before.…”