Political Quotes

“I thank the Chair. You try a lot of things on this side that do not work. We voted overwhelmingly for a lobbying bill, gift bans, and everybody on the other side voted for it, 93 to 5, overwhelmingly. Some go out of here, and the only excuse they had for not voting for it this time is that they want to set the agenda. They want to introduce their own lobbying bill-gift ban bill. Now we are trying to uphold something that is absolutely the right thing to do, and they say we should not impose it on the House. If they have been doing it for a while, why not correct it now? Do not wait months from now. The distinguished majority leader said that this is a bill that would be acceptable on the House side. If it is going to be accepted on the House side, why not have something in there that is right? Let us do the right thing instead of letting it go. If something bad has happened, if something bad is going on, let us correct it now. Let us not wait until we are down the pike. If anyone wants to pass this underlying bill, sure, let us pass the underlying bill, but not by setting up a new, special and separate bureaucracy by Congress for Congress. You go out and tell your constituent tomorrow that you are immune from prosecution. He is not. Tell him about the special committee set up to set your rules, and he does not have any. Tell him about the special counsel you are going to hire for yourself, and he does not have any.”