Political Quotes

“To address this bill in general. This bill is an act of political theater. It attempts to cover up the underlying problem of a government shutdown with what in essence is a rhetorical gimmick. The bill claims to support our troops, which the majority knows that the minority party wants to do at least as much as they do. There's no disagreement in terms of the desire to make sure that all of our noble men and women in uniform and the civilians who work for the Defense Department and the contractors that contribute to our national security are all paid. We all want to do that. So why do we have this bill? Well, this bill attempts to reassure the public, who might be confused, as to what the adverse impacts of a government shutdown might be. {time} 2300 Mr. Speaker, it's important that the public understand that even with this bill, what we will do tonight, what the majority will do tonight will, nevertheless, fail to provide the materials essential to support and maintain the readiness of our U.S. forces. I'll list any number of activities that will, notwithstanding this bill, go unfunded if the government is shut down. And because of the action that really the majority will take tonight, it looks increasingly likely that will happen at the beginning of next week. Mr. Speaker, when we finish tonight, we will set in motion a situation where military medical treatment facilities will have to scale back operations.…”