Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to say to my colleague Senator Heller, I wish we could accommodate all of the amendments. The fact is that even a word here and there changes the balance of what Senator Feinstein and I have tried to put together. Although on the surface it may not look like a big deal--I understand we have two competing bills that were passed in the House, and one has the language. The fact is, our language for the entirety of the bill does not match the House bill. When you change something, we have to look at the cause and effect of it. Here are the realities. This is a voluntary bill. I will start backward with some of the things Senator Heller said. Technology companies are opposed to it. They are. I cannot do anything about that, but I can plead with them: Why would you deprive thousands of businesses that want to have a partnership with the Federal Government from having it because you have determined for your business, even though you are a large holder of personal data, that you don't want a partnership with the Federal Government. I would suggest that the first day they get penetrated, they may find that partnership is worthy. I cannot change where they are on the legislation. The reality is that for a voluntary bill, it means there has to be a reason for people to want to participate. Uncertainty is the No. 1 thing that drives that away.…”