Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in reserving the right to object and for the reasons I have already stated, there will be ample time to bring up the permanent reauthorization of the funding for historically Black colleges and universities and minority institutions. That is why the unanimous consent for which I asked was for 2 years. My party doesn't control the activities on the floor of the Senate. This reauthorization bill is going to take some time on the floor. We are going to have to deal with amendments, and we are going to have to reconcile the differences between the House and the Senate. There is no other category of expenditures that is mandatory of this nature to underserved and historically discriminated institutions that is being held hostage as we debate a broader bill. I think this is a truly unique circumstance and should not be held hostage. We need to have a way of debating the issues to make sure that in a reauthorization that occurs only every so often within the Higher Education Act that we deal with the current gaps we have for diversity--for students with disabilities, for students of color, for students from low-income families, and for those who are the first in their families to attend college. For those reasons, I object to the request. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The Senator from Tennessee.”