Political Quotes

“may I first thank our esteemed chairman for his characteristically generous remarks, and all involved--to agree with him; to point out that this is the first such legislation since the Internal Revenue Service was established under Abraham Lincoln in 1862. Our purpose was to renew the 19th century agency, to invigorate it, and to give to the employees, the public servants, the respect to which they are entitled as public servants. Respect is one of the principal rewards for public service. I hope we have done that with the overwhelming support here on the floor, and the unanimous vote in the Finance Committee. Once again, our chairman has managed to bring us together and produce yet another major legislation out of the Finance Committee unanimously, which presents itself so clearly to the entire Senate floor. I would not want to close without mentioning again the role of Senators Kerrey and Grassley in the commission that preceded our work, and the staff that did heroic work. I would particularly mention on our side Mark Patterson, and Nick Giordano, whose encyclopedic knowledge, in fact, made our contribution hopefully of substance. So concludes a long year's work. I say well done to the chairman. I thank the chairman.”