Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the time has come for reason. No longer can we afford to allow a small segment of this Congress to drive the debate. It's not just the tail wagging the dog, it is the tip of the dog's tail wagging the entire body politic. The time has come for those in the middle to come together and take back the wheel from those intent on crashing this Congress into a ditch. As I stand here today, the government of the United States is shuttered, shut down by nothing more than brinksmanship. Small business loans are not being processed. The Centers for Disease Control flu prevention program is being halted, and the National Institutes of Health is no longer accepting kids into a cancer research program. Some food safety operations have ceased, and cleanup at 600 toxic waste sites has been suspended. It wasn't always this way though. There was a time when we had regular order. There was a time when budgets were proposed, funding levels and priorities were debated, differences were hashed out, and bills were passed to fund the government. And even when regular order broke down, we were always able to at least pass a continuing resolution to continue funding the government. Not this time. This time, an effort to repeal a law that was passed by both houses, signed by the President, approved by the Supreme Court, has shanghaied all Federal spending. Many across the aisle acknowledge how harmful and irresponsible such a plan is.…”