Political Quotes

“I rise today regrettably, as ranking member of the Small Business Committee, to announce that I will be opposing cloture on the pending legislation regarding small business. I have reached this decision after much deliberation, because I support the underlying legislation. In fact, I have championed the Small Business Innovation Research Program since its inception in 1982, when I was serving in the House of Representatives. But regrettably there has been a disturbing trend in this body over the past several years of disregarding the minority rights and flat out disallowing votes on our amendments. We were informed early this year that we would have an open amendment process on legislation in this Congress. We were told, let's let the Senate be the Senate again. I could not agree more. Let's allow Senators to offer amendments and have votes on them. That is the Senate that I know, and the one that has served our country so well since it first convened in 1789. As we all well know, the Senate has traditionally been a place where the rights of the minority were protected, and where constructive debate is the rule, not the exception. It is supposed to be the institutional check that ensures all voices are heard and considered. Because while our constitutional democracy is premised on majority role, it is also grounded in a commitment to minority rights.…”