Political Quotes

“This is a legislative arena, not a coliseum to attack one another. It is a legislative arena to try to come together to do what the American public expects us to do. There are at least two crises confronting the American people, and perhaps three. First of all, they are concerned about the fiscal posture of this country. They're right. We need to address that. Secondly, they're concerned about jobs. And immediately, as the gentleman from Mississippi just pointed out, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania who spoke earlier, they are concerned about the disasters that have put them at risk. And I suggest to you the people in your district and in my district who don't have a job, who aren't sure how they are going to pay their mortgage and aren't sure that they are going to be able to buy food tomorrow believe that they too have been confronted with a disaster. They want us to deal with all three of those items and, yes, perhaps more. Many of you have stood on this floor and said we need to act now to help these people who have been the victims of hurricane, of quake, of fire, of flood. Now, if you want to act now, what you bring to this floor is a bill that is not controversial so it does not get mired in this bickering back and forth, because we care deeply about responding now. This bill has never enjoyed bipartisan support from my perspective, and I told your whip that on Tuesday. There was no surprise.…”