Political Quotes

“I wish to take a few minutes to thank Senator Dodd for his extraordinary leadership on this bill. I know he is working through a lot of amendments. I know a lot of us have been urging him to allow us to present amendments. I know he has been challenged by the efforts on trying to schedule votes on amendments. I thank him, on behalf of all his colleagues in the Senate, for his extraordinary leadership in bringing this bill forward. I thank Senator Shelby for working with Senator Dodd. I know we are close to bringing this bill to completion. I am very proud to be a supporter of this bill. It is critically important that we do what we need to do in regulating Wall Street. This amendment is a bipartisan amendment. Senator Lugar has filed a bill, of which I am a proud cosponsor, that accomplishes basically the same purpose. He has been a real leader in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on transparency in the oil industry and its contracts. The nature of the oil, gas, and mining sector means that companies often have to operate in countries that are often autocratic, unstable, or both. Investors need to know the full extent of a company's exposure when they are operating in countries where they are subject to expropriation, political and social turmoil, and reputational risks. In Nigeria, for example, American companies have taken oilfields offline because of rebel activity and instability in the Niger Delta.”