Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I first wish to commend Senator Wyden, Senator Grassley, and Senator McCaskill for their incredible determination to get this done. We thought we did it when our class of Senators came in. We thought we had gotten rid of the secret hold, but lo and behold, people found a way to work around it, and their determination has meant we are finally going to do this and we are going to do it right. Secondly, I wish to thank Senator Alexander as well as Senator Schumer of the Rules Committee for negotiating a number of these changes, as well as Senator Reid and Senator McConnell. When I think back over the last few months and what has happened, we had an incredibly productive lameduck session at the end of the last Congress. We all know there is a lot of work to be done, but in the closing months of this year, we showed people--I think to their surprise--that we could truly get some things done on a bipartisan basis. When the American people unite and see a clear issue--whether it was the nuclear arms treaty, whether it was the vote on the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, or whether it was the first responders after 9/11--and they see what is happening in this Chamber because they actually see a debate, they see someone standing up and making their points as the Presiding Officer does so well on so many issues, then they can make a decision.…”