Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise to talk about the vote we had a little while ago and the need to go to the Defense authorization bill. To me it is unconscionable that, at a time in which the Nation is at war, our Republican colleagues would vote lockstep, in uniformity, to oppose going to the Defense authorization bill--for whatever the reasons are, even though I do not find the reasons to be valid. I think it is very clear that the majority leader said there would be a host of amendments that would be offered once we went to the bill and disposed of a few particular amendments that the majority leader was going to offer, that are in every way germane to the Defense authorization bill, more germane than the amendments that have been offered in the past on extraneous matters by those who oppose proceeding to the bill. They thought it was fitting and appropriate to offer it on the Defense authorization bill. Yet, when you have amendments that go to the very heart of how you recruit individuals for the Armed Forces and how you allow individuals to serve in the Armed Forces, that is not germane? Ridiculous. What this is all about is an attempt once again to use the power of the minority to obstruct the process of making sure this Congress is moving forward and meeting its obligations to the American people, and in this particular case to the Nation's collective security.…”