Political Quotes

“Mr. President, speaking on behalf of Leader McConnell and with all due respect to my friend from Michigan, this is a COVID- related provision which the Biden administration never requested. It is not in the President's budget. It is not even in the supplemental budget. The administration asked for everything under the Sun, but they never asked for this. This is another example of my colleagues trying to take an emergency pandemic, the exemptions, and turn them into permanent changes that last forever. Families don't want schools to be permanently stuck in a pandemic posture. Families want schools to move past COVID and get back to normal. Yet this amendment would continue policies that were explicitly designed to help schools close and go virtual. That is exactly what families don't want. Parents and kids want schools open. Finally, this amendment costs $11 billion, and it is not offset. For the people watching this tonight, that means it is not paid for. It is $11 billion more that we can't afford. We had a fully-paid-for COVID package ready to go until the House Democrats blew it up. We will not be going around the backs of our own Senate committees of jurisdiction because House Democrats killed a bipartisan COVID package. So I respectfully object. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard to the modification. Is there objection to the original request? Without objection, it is so ordered. The majority leader.”