Political Quotes

“I do not believe that not being able to accept gifts under $20 meets my test of what we were trying to achieve here, something which is tough, simple, and rational. I think the reason for the $20 exception was precisely the same reason as the Senator from Arkansas uses in saying that he wishes to eliminate it. I believe we will get far more Members tripped up when they have to figure out whether an exception applies to all the gifts that we get under $20. But the will of the body obviously is that we eliminate the $20 gift limitation. I can live with that gracefully. I think it is going to create more difficulties for us than it is going to solve. I think it will be more complex, not simpler. The Senator from Arkansas seeks simplicity. When he eliminates the possibility of getting a hamburger and a Coke from somebody, unless a certain test is met, I think he is going to do exactly opposite of what he purports to do, which is to have simplicity for all of us. So I do not think it is a simple or even a rational approach, frankly. It is not as rational as having a $20 rule. The proof of this I believe is that the executive branch has had a $20 gift rule in effect. It has worked. It has worked for Cabinet officers. It has worked for other people in the executive branch. There is no reason why it cannot work for us. It will save us an awful lot of headaches in trying to figure out whether or not all exceptions apply for all the little things.”