Political Quotes

“I am always moved to hear the Pledge of Allegiance that marks the beginning of a new legislative day in the Senate. On the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, the words ``one nation, indivisible'' mean more today than most other days. Along with Chaplain Black's inspired invocation, the pledge motivates us and reminds us of the true purpose of our work. Together, they recall our responsibility to our country, to our countrymen, and to our conscience. I am particularly pleased to see the Senate open this morning. As we all know, last week at this time, even as recently as just a few evenings ago, whether the government would stay open was a very real question. As I said here late on Friday night, I am pleased we reached an agreement on a budget in time to keep the country operating. I am pleased that the budget will make historic cuts, saving the country money so we can lower our deficit and do a better job of living within our meanings. At the beginning of this debate and throughout the last few weeks, I reminded the Senate that in this negotiation, as in any negotiation, neither side would get everything they wanted. From the start I also expressed my firm belief that what we cut would always be more important than how much. That is because our Nation's budget is a representation of our values and of what we value. It is one of the many ways we demonstrate as a Congress and a country what matters most to us, what is important.…”