Jon S. Corzine: “I repeat, the policies of this bill on overtime, media concentration, and certainly gun safety records are just…”

“I repeat, the policies of this bill on overtime, media concentration, and certainly gun safety records are just incredibly out of connection with the reality of the world in which we live today. Work should be valued, open debate should be valued, and the safety of our citizens, our homeland security, should be valued. Again, I compliment the leadership on its work on this appropriations bill. I just do not understand why we have had to mix it up and put it into a bowl of seriously flawed policies. There is a whole series of other policies, including vouchers in the school system, that have occurred without real debate--and I could go on--but overtime in this country is a value of work. Media concentration was designed so that America could have a free press and a free debate. We ought to be making sure we protect these fundamental rights. It ought to be done in a democratic way. I hope my colleagues will stand with us on principle on the Omnibus appropriations bill to fix it and come back to the fundamental underlying appropriations process.”