Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we talk a lot in the Senate about procedure. Our debates sometimes relate only to procedure, and often that is appropriate. As we know, sometimes these procedural rules we have in the Senate are complex. But the issue before us today is not something that is arcane, very ritualistic, or very complex. It is very simple. It is clear that it is going to be a lot more noticeable by people Monday morning because it is going to affect the lives of thousands of Americans and their livelihoods. The issue before us is this: Our country is in a state of economic turmoil. Lots of people are out of work. Lots of people have been out of work for a long time. They are trying to make ends meet drawing unemployment compensation, which is something we have had in effect in this country for a long time. By Monday morning, tens of thousands of Nevadans and more than a million Americans who rely on unemployment insurance and health benefits will simply lose them. We have traditionally, during times of stress, automatically given unemployment benefits, and we should do that. These people are getting poorer every day. They are out of work for long periods of time. Unemployment is rampant in every single State in the country, some worse than others. So many of those unemployed have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Those opposed to helping people who are down and out, at a time of their greatest need, should not have to talk about process.…”