Harry Reid: “whenever I hear the distinguished Senator from Louisiana speak, I think of the wonderful weekend I had in New Orleans.…”

“whenever I hear the distinguished Senator from Louisiana speak, I think of the wonderful weekend I had in New Orleans. We were working with her on some projects. She wanted me to look at some projects that were funded in the Energy and Water Subcommittee that I have had the pleasure of chairing and being the ranking member on over the years. I have been in New Orleans on other occasions to be a tourist, but this was the first time I had ever gone there to work. I had wanted to see New Orleans for years. One of the things I told the Senator I wanted to see was these great pumps. New Orleans is below sea level, and to keep it dry their pumps go 24 hours a day. They are big pumps. I had read an article in the Smithsonian Magazine about these old, old pumps that had not been changed since before the turn of the century that still keep New Orleans dry. So I had the pleasure of going there and seeing something that I wanted to see. The place where these big old pumps were was as clean as a restaurant.”