Political Quotes

“I appreciate the courtesies of the Senator from Washington, who is on the floor managing the bill. I thank her for allowing me to make these brief remarks regarding one of the nominees of President Obama--someone we will be confirming, hopefully, in the next short period of time. I come to the floor to give my strong and unequivocal support to Alejandro Mayorkas as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Before I speak about his many extraordinary qualifications for this job, let me say that it has been very disappointing and very concerning to me that so many high-level leadership positions in this particular Department have gone unfilled for so long. It has been 6 months since Secretary Janet Napolitano stepped down, having given notice of her departure after serving with such distinction and contributing so much to the strengthening of that agency. All agencies of the Federal Government are important and there are advocacy groups who argue for them, but I think everyone understands the real significance of the Department of Homeland Security. It is a relatively new agency. The Department is only 10 years old, but it plays a key role in the security of our homeland. Because it is new, it is still struggling with how to coordinate and unite all of the internal parts and coordinate effectively with the Department of Defense. It has new and emerging technological challenges that are extremely demanding.…”