Political Quotes

“I understand the consternation of the distinguished majority leader. I spend a lot of time with him. It is hard to manage this unwieldy body. I understand that. I try to help as I can. Sometimes I am not as much help as he would like. Take, for example, this bill. We have been working on this bill and I am convinced the end is in sight for this bill. I don't know the exact number. There are probably five or six Katrina-related amendments on this bill. They are good amendments if they relate to spending on Katrina for the victims, education, housing, medical. We should vote on those. If there is a problem with them, work with our managers. For example, we tried to accept the amendment related to medical that came over from the House. We cannot do that. Even on Public Radio this morning--not actually a bastion of democratic liberality--Public Radio had an example of what the bill passed in the House would do or not do. They give an example of a woman who is from Louisiana who was sent to the Astrodome, 55 years old, heart condition, diabetes. Under the House provision we have now, she could not get help. Under our provision, she could. We are trying to help the people who got hurt, and there are a lot of people who got hurt. I agree we need to do more on these appropriations bills. We should not have a big omnibus bill.…”