Political Quotes

“I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 6726, which would extend the pay freeze on Federal employees through the end of 2013 and eliminate the pay adjustment for Members of Congress. I think we need to be very careful in this discussion. As my distinguished colleague from Virginia just stated, I don't think there's any Member of Congress that is against freezing the pay of Members of Congress. If I had known about the bill, I would have cosponsored it. I don't know when it was filed, but I would have cosponsored it, as he said he would have also. But this is a different issue. {time} 1250 I cannot understand why the House is considering this bill right now. The Senate just approved a landmark deal to avert the fiscal cliff with widespread bipartisan support--a vote of 89-8. Acting on the fiscal cliff legislation as soon as possible should be our first and most urgent order of business this afternoon. But instead, this bill--which is yet another assault on very hardworking, middle class American workers--was introduced not very long ago. Is this really the way the majority wants to begin the new year? Members of Congress certainly can do without a pay adjustment. And the bill passed by the Senate last night to resolve the fiscal cliff already includes a provision freezing Members' pay. I plan to vote for the package that came out of the Senate, assuming it stays in its present form.…”