Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in his three decades in the Senate, Jay Rockefeller established a strong reputation as a leader who offered innovative, common-sense solutions. He has served the people of West Virginia and of America with distinction. To me, he has been an admired colleague. He will always be a good friend. To fully understand Senator Rockefeller's dedication during his 30 years of service in the Senate, it is necessary to go back 50 years, to 1964, when he travelled to West Virginia as a VISTA volunteer. Like Maine, West Virginia is a large rural state with many low-income residents and an aging population. From strengthening our rural hospitals to fighting the scourge of prescription drug abuse, I have been fortunate to work with a leader who sees access to affordable, quality health care not as just a series of issues to address but as his life's work. One of our greatest achievements together was the inclusion of our language in the 2003 tax bill to provide temporary, targeted fiscal relief to the States--which, at the time, were awash in red ink due to a severe economic downturn driven in large part by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Senator Rockefeller and I worked with then- Senator Ben Nelson on legislation to provide $20 billion in short-term fiscal relief to States, half of which was used to provide health insurance to low-income citizens through the Medicaid program.…”