Political Quotes

“I am glad to have been here to hear the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee talk about the oversight and the responsiveness that the executive branch agencies owe to the U.S. Senate and its committees. In doing so, I am having a similar problem with the State Department as it relates to getting information about actions that have taken place with reference to political reprisals and firings at the State Department and subject to being investigated right now by the inspector general of the State Department and special counsel. So I can share in his concerns about the inability to get information from the executive branch as a legitimate exercise of oversight. I rise today, as I have so many times in my career, to be the voice for the people of Puerto Rico in the U.S. Senate. On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria--a powerful category 5 storm-- ripped through the center of the island of Puerto Rico, wiping out its electrical grid and leaving millions of American citizens disconnected and in the dark. This was preceded by Hurricane Irma, which also struck the island--a double body blow. What ensued were months of absolute darkness, hunger, despair, and death. While the President played golf in Mar-a-Lago, thousands of our fellow Americans were dying due to the lack of electricity to power oxygen tanks, dialysis centers, or refrigerated medications--problems that, as I said at the time, could not be solved with paper towels.…”