Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from Maryland for his support of the Fire Grants and Safety Act. The amendment he is offering would authorize a new grant program at FEMA to fund fire station construction. And while I fully support increased Federal resources for this purpose, I must, unfortunately and reluctantly, vote no on this particular amendment. This language has not been moved through committee, and FEMA has not had the opportunity to provide input to ensure that this bill achieves its intended goal. But let me say again: I fully support this effort, fully support the Senator from Maryland, and agree with him totally that we need to have more resources to help our communities upgrade their fire stations. This is an urgent need. I also agree we want to make sure that we are not raiding the current fund for this purpose, which is why the next amendment coming up, I will also be voting no. But I fully intend to work with the Senator from Maryland to move towards a markup on his stand-alone bill, on this very topic, which has been referred to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, a committee in which I chair. But I will reluctantly be voting no on this amendment. Vote on Amendment No. 85 The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on agreeing to amendment No. 85.”