Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague from Virginia for that extra time. We need to end sequestration, we need to invest in job growth, and we need to have a balance between revenue and spending so we have a way in which America can continue to grow. We need to deal with our Federal workforce. Shutting down the Federal Government was a punch in the gut to Federal workers and contractors. Make no mistake about it. This agreement intends to hold our Federal workers harmless as far as pay, and more particularly it brings them back to work to do the essential work of these agencies. I have talked before about the important work done by many of these Federal agencies--the Environmental Protection Agency, protecting our public health, protecting our environment; the Small Business Administration, processing loans for small businesses; the National Institutes of Health, doing ground-breaking research to make the next great discovery for America; NIST, working to give us technology so that we are competitive; the FDA's food safety programs; and the list goes on and on and on. The bottom line is we need to work together. We not only need to open the government and pay our bills, but we need an agreement for a responsible budget that will give us predictability, job growth, and economic competitiveness to meet the world's global economy. I hope we will take advantage of the time this agreement gives us to put our country first and do what is right with America's future. I yield the floor.…”