Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I want to thank Mr. Meadows and Mr. Chaffetz and, certainly, Speaker Ryan for getting this bill to the floor. I associate myself completely with the words of the former chairman of our Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Mr. Issa. I don't think there has been anyone who has worked harder on getting this bill to the floor than Mr. Issa. Without a doubt, his fingerprints are all over it. I really do, from the depths of my heart, thank him for all that he has done to make this happen. The FOIA Improvement Act is a product of a 3-year journey--that is a long time--that began when Representative Issa and I first introduced the basis for the bill in 2013. Mr. Issa worked with me on the House version of this bill, and Senators Leahy and Cornyn took the lead in the Senate. Again, I want to thank the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Jason Chaffetz, for his work on FOIA reform and for his support bringing the bill to the floor. He has proposed some additional initiatives that did not make it into this version of the bill but that deserve continued attention. Even in our negotiations, I give it to Chairman Chaffetz. You know, a lot of times when you are trying to work things out and get things done between the House and the Senate, there has to be some compromise. There are a lot of good things that he wanted in the bill that I strongly supported, but we were not able to get them in.…”