Political Quotes

“we are trying to complete this Defense bill. The Senator from Vermont has made his case. The Senator from Virginia has made his case. The record should be spread with the fact that Senator Leahy is going to get a vote on his amendment before we finish this bill, and I would hope we could move on. As far as I am concerned, the issue is very clearly defined. I have heard people ask all during the day, What is happening with this bill? Why can we not move it more quickly? The Senator from Michigan, the manager of this bill on the side of the minority, and I have worked very hard the last 24 hours to try to clear amendments, and on our side there are a definite number of amendments. As I understand it, this is our 11th day on this bill. We have spent weeks on these bills in the past. We know the importance of the Senate agenda. There are so many other things to do. We have just wasted a tremendous amount of time, obviously for the reasons the majority does not want to vote on Senator Leahy's amendment. So I would certainly hope that everyone understands that anything that is being slowed down on this bill is not because of us. There are a number of issues we need to debate on a Defense bill. Certainly, we should have an amendment that deals with end strength; that is, what should be the troop levels. The person who is offering that amendment is a graduate from West Point, a retired major from the Army.”