Political Quotes

“I come to the floor, as I have many times over the last nearly half a year, to talk about the challenges the people of Puerto Rico have. I came to the floor last week to ask consent to bring to the floor the bill that the House of Representatives called PROMESA--which, in Spanish, means ``promise'' but is anything but a promise to the challenges the people of Puerto Rico have--because I knew we needed time to be able to make a horrible bill a lot better. That is the essence of what the Senate is. It is a coequal branch of the legislative body that does not have to accept what the House of Representatives sends and say, well, it is an up-or- down vote. I had been speaking for some time about what I expected was going to happen. At that time, the majority whip--Senator Cornyn, the distinguished Senator from Texas--got up and objected to my unanimous consent request but said there will be an opportunity for amendments. Obviously, the majority leader put the legislation on the table, filled the tree, and now there is no opportunity for amendments. I think the 3.5 million U.S.…”