Political Quotes

“in an hour and a half the Senate will vote on the House request to go to conference on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. This push by House Republicans to go to conference is the very definition of an exercise in futility. I have been very clear for days now that we will not go to conference. The majority knows that, and the Speaker of the House knows that. Senate Democrats will not support going to conference because it would be totally counterproductive. House Republicans have no intention of using that conference to craft legislation that will pass both Houses of Congress, and in so doing they would make sure we had a shutdown of Homeland Security, and that would be very bad for the country. House Republicans want to take a bill that they negotiated, a bill that was written by House and Senate Republicans and Democrats last December--it was a bipartisan, bicameral bill, and now they want to take that bill and turn it into something that cannot pass. That won't happen. We will not be a party to yet another charade by House Republicans because that would inevitably shut down Homeland Security and put our Nation at risk--and that is an understatement. The Senate should reaffirm our bipartisan vote last Friday for a clean bill to prevent a shutdown. We had 68 votes. We can do it again, and we should do it again. That vote will happen at 5:30 p.m. this afternoon. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.…”