Political Quotes

“I am glad that the national embarrassment of this Government shutdown is at least coming to an end temporarily. Throughout the shutdown I have been arguing for no budget, no pay. It was a simple concept. If Members of Congress did not do their duty and keep the Government running, Members of Congress would not receive their paychecks. That did not sit very well with some of the Republican leaders, and it has never been brought to the floor. And that is unfortunate. But today I have a compromise proposal for the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston]. I would like to suggest that we say in the future that the very last appropriations bill which can be sent by this Congress to the President is the legislative appropriations bill. After we have done all the other appropriations bills, we will take care of ourselves. The concept is simple. We do not get dessert until we have cleaned our plates. And when Members of Congress realize that they cannot play with the lives of innocent Federal employees unless they risk their own staff and their own time here in Congress, I think they will take it more seriously. Let us hope this embarrassment is not just over temporarily. Let us hope it is over permanently. But let us get down to a balanced budget but not on the backs of innocent people.”