Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, most of us will vote for this bill, but it's not going to fix the damage to our country of a shutdown, nor can it mask what's going on here tonight: another chapter of Republican hostage-taking, threatening to shut down the government, or to refuse to pay the country's bills, if they don't get their way politically. It's been pretty confusing tonight with all this talk about who's willing to negotiate. Republicans know very well that it is they who have refused to go to conference with the Senate on the budget. They also know that it's their leaders who cut off discussions of a comprehensive budget deal with the President back in December. What they're doing tonight is the opposite of negotiate--take-it-or- leave-it politics, threatening government collapse and economic ruin in pursuit of a political agenda they could not advance by legitimate means. We need to get back to the basics: keep the government open, pay the country's bills, and negotiate a real and comprehensive budget plan.”