Political Quotes

“This conference report on H.R. 6, the higher education bill, is the culmination of almost 2 years of bipartisan work on behalf of students and parents across this country. When we first started this process at the beginning of last year, the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) and I set out to produce a bill that would enjoy widespread support. We decided to meet at least once a month for breakfast, without staff. And although this made our staffs very nervous, our breakfast meetings helped smooth out the rough spots and kept us moving with a truly bipartisan spirit. The gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) is truly an outstanding lawmaker. In light of our understanding that this bill was too important to be bogged down in bipartisan differences, we both had to give ground and to compromise. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of this bill and I am especially grateful for the hard work of all our staffs in getting us to this day.”