Political Quotes

“I want to address the Senate this morning with respect to the national tobacco policy legislation that has been on the floor this week. I hope in the final analysis we will be able to come to a common agreement and find common ground on this critical issue and legislation. Clearly, the significance of this issue and the promise of related legislation cannot be overstated with respect to the fact that it certainly could improve the health of our Nation's children. As a Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I had the opportunity to work on the original legislation that was reported out of the committee by a 19-1 vote. The committee voted overwhelmingly for the bill because we thought it was important and necessary to move the debate forward on this critical issue. There is no question that the bill which is now on the floor of the Senate is very different from the legislation that was considered in the Commerce Committee, where we began the process of defining and refining the issue, and knew full well that amendments would be offered on the floor to improve it and to reflect the interests and the desires of the Members of this body. Unfortunately, what ultimately occurred is that we had a total rewrite of the bill through the White House.”