Political Quotes

“in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal, we have seen multiple indictments, Members of Congress resigning under a cloud of scandal, congressional approval at an historic low, and a public demand for reform. You would think that the Republican leadership would want to get these scandals behind them, but it is clear they do not. What is the first stage of grief? Denial and isolation. So here we are today discussing a bill that doesn't do anything to address the problems of the scandals facing this Congress, this institution, which require an institutional solution to an institutional problem. Nope, this bill doesn't do anything to stop the pay-to-play policies of the party in power. Nope, it doesn't. Doesn't do anything to shut down the K Street Project, rewarding lobbyists who show party loyalty, or to slow the revolving door. Nope, it doesn't do that. Many of you will recall our former colleague, Mr. Tauzin, who negotiated a million dollar lobbying job with the pharmaceutical industry at the same time that he was rewriting the Medicare prescription drug bill. This legislation doesn't affect that. Now, take a hypothetical for a moment. What if a Member just resigned, middle of a term, and was thinking of working for companies and sitting on boards. This legislation doesn't change what would happen. It happened when Mr. Tauzin was out here on the floor.…”