Political Quotes

“the Senate has been able to accomplish a great deal this week. The two managers of the trade bill worked very hard. This has been a complicated bill with very technical issues. The Presiding Officer, of course, is a member of the Finance Committee and has better knowledge of that than most of us, but for most Members of the Senate this is a difficult issue because it does deal with matters under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Finance Committee. In spite of that, we were able to move through this quite well. There were some procedural problems that we always have postcloture, but I think we were able to do a good job. While the Presiding Officer is in the Chamber, I express the appreciation of the entire Senate for the work that he does that goes unnoticed and is so important. The Presiding Officer is chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Again, there are a very select number of people who serve on that very small committee. Most of the work that is done is in total secrecy. There is not a lot of press around. Evidence is being taken and testimony is being given. So we rely on you very heavily, and on the Intelligence Committee.”