Political Quotes

“I rise today to declare my intention to vote against the Treasury-Postal Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2001. I will do so despite supporting the funding levels for gun crime enforcement in the bill. However, I have consistently voted against cost of living increases (COLAs) for Members of Congress and will do so again today. All of us spend a great deal of time working on issues of particular importance to senior citizens. I am especially active on the topic of providing affordable prescription medicines to the elderly, and am committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare. In recent years, despite the thriving U.S. economy, the COLA that seniors receive for their Social Security benefits has been too small, as low as 1.3 percent. By comparison, we are preparing to give ourselves a 2.7 percent increase, and I do not think this is appropriate on fair, especially in light of the enormous budget surpluses that are projected over the next decade. Let us take care of our seniors before we take care of ourselves.”