Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first, let me thank my colleague and friend, the Senator from New York, for the amazing work she has done to get this bill to this point. She has worked long and hard on this for years and years and years with compassion, dedication, intelligence, and persistence. The bill wouldn't be here today without her hard work. I thank her for that. I also want to thank--I know there are police and firefighters in the Gallery over here. I want to thank them for coming. You are the people who got this done. You are the people who made this happen more than any of us and more than anyone else. The heroes of 21st century America have names like Zadroga and Pfeifer and Alvarez, for whom this bill is named--three of the thousands who rushed to the towers bravely and lost their lives because of their bravery and selflessness. I say to my friend from Kentucky: Throughout the history of America, when our young men and women or older men and women volunteered in the armed services and risked their lives for our freedom, we came back and gave them healthcare, and we are still working on making it better. Why are these people any different? They, too, risked their lives in a time of war and were hurt by it--by diseases they didn't even know they could get. How can we, for whatever reason, stop this bill from moving forward? We are going to have a defense bill on the appropriations floor. We are not going to offset it. It has pay raises for our soldiers. It has new equipment.…”