Political Quotes

“there has been good progress made on ethics and lobbying reform. We have had a good debate. It is time to move to passage of this meritorious legislation. We will have three votes beginning at 5:30 this afternoon. First we will vote on the Durbin amendment to strengthen the definition of ``targeted tax benefit'' and other aspects of Senator DeMint's earmark disclosure proposal. I appreciate Senator DeMint working with Senator Durbin and others to strengthen his amendment. Second, we will vote on the underlying DeMint amendment on earmark disclosure. Finally, we will vote to invoke cloture on an amendment that I offered strengthening the rules on gifts and travel, including travel on private airplanes. Once cloture is invoked on that key amendment, we can move forward to finishing the bill this week. This ethics reform bill is vitally important to Congress and the American people. Over the past few years, the media has been filled with stories of elected officials who have violated the public trust often in their dealings with lobbyists.”