Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it strikes me that there are really two problems before us--one we can resolve this evening or tomorrow morning or in the next 24 hours, and that is the shutdown. At least we could resolve it for a limited period of time and then start talking about the second problem, which is border security. I think one of the unfortunate realities of what has happened in the last month is the assumption on the part of some that there was no good faith on border security and no interest in dealing with border security from this side of the aisle. That is a misunderstanding. I voted in 2013 for the largest border security provision that I think has ever come before the U.S. Senate. So did virtually every Member of this caucus and a third or more of the other caucus. Two-thirds of the Senate voted for that bill with a very important border security provision. I want to be very clear. I am very supportive of border security and of increasing border security. There also may be cases in which there may be parts of the border at which some kind of barrier makes sense and is cost-effective; whereas, there are other areas of the border at which it doesn't make sense. What I am interested in is a thorough discussion with the experts about what the most cost-effective way is to protect our citizens and secure the border. I believe this proposal today gives us the breathing space to have that discussion.…”