Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for outlining his position. We are a nation of laws. The gentleman has indicated a court has ruled on this issue--an opinion with which he disagrees--and we have a mechanism for overturning or clarifying or changing such a ruling, and that is the court system. That case may well reach the Supreme Court. I rise in opposition to this piece of legislation, which, in my opinion, is an exercise in hypocrisy. Why do I say that? That can be a harsh word. We are witnessing the party that proclaims itself to be the champion of local autonomy and less Federal Government involvement in local affairs--we hear that all the time--bring to this floor legislation that would do exactly the opposite. The District of Columbia's over 700,000 American citizens deserve a form of home rule not characterized by constant and intrusive micromanaging by congressional Republicans or Democrats. Now, if I were to ask unanimous consent that we substitute the District of Columbia and perhaps include Milwaukee, Wisconsin--now, I am not going to ask for that--I am sure I would get objection. Or, if I might ask that Salt Lake City be substituted or perhaps even Baltimore, Maryland, my own city in my State, or maybe even Charlotte, North Carolina, those of us who represent those four cities would stand and say: This is not your role, Congress of the United States.…”