Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the amendment. I guess I have 2 minutes for that since it is 4 minutes equally divided between the amendments. I know my colleague from Maryland will debate the other amendment. I urge a strong ``no'' vote on this amendment. This would require a huge amount of time and bureaucratic redtape at a time of emergency between disaster victims and the Federal assistance they deserve. Competitive bidding is generally a good thing. It can save on costs as well as provide transparency and fraud prevention. It is important that Federal disaster assistance not be used as a slush fund for crony contracts. Folks, we are dealing with an emergency. In most States, it takes 90 days or more. It can take 3 to 6 months. We have people who desperately need help, and we would slow the process down to a fare-thee-well if we had to invoke the same competitive bidding practice we invoke for other contracts that are not under emergency. In fact, this is sort of catch-22. Many of our Republican colleagues say the money is spent out too slowly, and then they want to put more levels of redtape and bureaucracy slowdown. What if the contract is challenged in court? Businesses would lay fallow, homes will not be built, and it would leave shorelines unprotected and naked. Generally, I have been a supporter of competitive bidding, but as the Scripture says: There is a time and a place for everything.…”