Political Quotes

“I trust everyone in this body can imagine how much affection and respect I have for the national parks, that which I share with my very good friend from Idaho. We love the National Park System. I love the Smithsonian. When we have that family night, there is nothing more wonderful than taking our children to the Museums of American History and Natural History. I am so proud of what the Smithsonian offers the American people. The Holocaust Museum as well. You can't describe what happens to you emotionally when you walk through the Holocaust Museum. But notwithstanding how immensely valuable these institutions are to this country and how proud this Congress is of those institutions, I have to rise to oppose this legislation because it is not the way to do business. By that I mean, the idea of shutting down the whole government, and then when we get an adverse reaction from our constituents, we pick and choose and we open up a few. What happens tomorrow when the Social Security Administration comes to us and says, What about the 16,000 employees we just furloughed? These other folks got an exemption. How about us? It's going to happen every day with every agency until the Republican majority in the House realizes that every Federal agency is there for a purpose, and it's a purpose that serves the needs of the American people. But here we are.…”