Political Quotes

“I thank the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee, one of the great leaders with whom I have had the opportunity to serve over these last three decades, a man of great character, extraordinary intellect, and unbridled commitment to the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. I think all of us who have had the opportunity of serving with Ike Skelton of Missouri have been impressed by his commitment, awed by his depth of knowledge, and encouraged for the security of our country by his leadership. So I rise to pay tribute. This bill is named in his honor. This will be the last bill that he will shepherd as chairman. Two of the Members of the minority side have spoken and lamented the process that we are following today. I shared that lamentation. And I say to my friends, the reason we are in this pickle is because members of your party in the United States Senate would not allow us to proceed under regular order even though regular order had a majority of votes in the United States Senate. So it is nice to complain and wring our hands, but if obstructionism is the objective in the other body, then regular order has been denied us. We have an option. We can say they denied us regular order and, therefore, we failed; or, we can do what we did last night--take something that's not perfect but is better than inaction. Ike Skelton, Carl Levin, and John McCain worked very hard. And, as I understand it, the door was open to an invitation as well on your side.…”