Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today kind of expressing the frustration of many of my constituents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had Federal Agencies and employees not working at all--not from home, not in the office, period. Have not had a lick of work for over 14 months. In April, the Senate Finance Committee had a hearing entitled ``The Social Security Administration During COVID: How the Pandemic Hampered Access to Benefits and Strategies for Improving Service Delivery.'' Now, following the hearing and in response to my concerns that seniors in my State with issues getting their Social Security benefits are not being sufficiently served due to field and local offices being closed, my office got a letter from Commissioner Andrew Saul. The letter states: I urge you to encourage the unions to continue engaging in meaningful dialogue with management that includes a focus on the very best service to the public. That is a nice way of saying: We need help getting the unions to the table so we can get Federal employees back to work. Now, we are talking about mandatory services, reopening Social Security offices for in-person visits in a postvaccine world to assist elderly Americans--my grandparents, your grandparents--having issues with their benefits. This isn't happening because government employees are not showing up. It brings to mind an old quote from an old Governor in Louisiana, Earl Long. They asked Governor Long: How many people do you have working at the capitol?…”