Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to add my words congratulating everybody for finally getting this done, but I also want to be real clear. I wish we could have done this a year ago, so we could have been working on things that we have some differences on that need to be done. Where we are today on this bill could have easily been reached in a bipartisan manner with 400-plus Members voting for it over a year ago. I am only aware of two outside groups--both think tanks, not in business, not in labor--that opposed this bill; yet we let them run the agenda here because people couldn't get off the dime. For me, that is a huge mistake. We are here to make agreements, to make compromise, to get things done. For instance, we are sitting here today with Fannie and Freddie not resolved after all these years because we can't get off the dime of a few ideological disagreements that clearly are not going to be settled, the way they are going. There is plenty of room for compromise, plenty of room to get together and talk about it and get something done for the American people and the American economy. That is just one example. We have to get beyond the outside ideological groups telling us what we can and cannot do. Even if we agree with them, we have to understand we are elected to lead, to argue, and then to compromise. We are here today, finally. Thank you. Let's not get bogged down any further in this new Congress.…”