Political Quotes

“I do not see how being in a union would disallow any of those employees from performing their responsibilities. I think, Mr. Chairman, the crux of this debate comes down to trust. It is for this reason that I simply refuse to buy the argument that we have to matter-of-factly give the administration or any administration as much flexibility as possible. I am a friend of the President, I think he has done a wonderful job guiding the country through this crisis, but on the Federal employee issues, his record is not as laudable as I would like it to be. So my amendment speaks to those concerns. It speaks to the lack of trust that has been engendered if we have policies that are anti- Federal employee rights, and that is why I feel it is necessary to create a slightly higher standard for this department. The fact is, I simply cannot take the chance on being wrong on this issue. The President's executive order authority under chapter 7103 has never been overturned, and there are simply too many Federal employees who could lose their rights for the same questionable reason that those 500 DOJ employees did. I have 78,000 Federal employees living in my district. This issue is important to them, and it is important to the country. I ask my colleagues to vote for the amendment.”