Political Quotes

“yesterday, I mentioned the several big- ticket items left on the congressional agenda before the end of the year. Over the next few weeks, the Senate must pass an appropriations bill to keep the government funded. We must pass the annual Defense bill, a piece of legislation that Congress has passed every year for nearly 60 years in a row. And a top priority as well is a major COVID relief bill. We are in a moment of genuine national catastrophe. The rate of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are at the highest, or near the highest, of any point during this awful pandemic. The economic fallout of the pandemic spreads and spreads. November saw the largest single 2-week jump in unemployment benefit applications since early April, and enhanced job benefits are only a few weeks from expiration. The time has come for Congress to pass a bipartisan COVID relief bill that meets the needs of our workers, our families, our schools, and our businesses. The Republican leader of this Chamber knows very well that the only way to pass legislation in the Senate is with a measure of bipartisanship. But time and time again, the Republican leader's idea of action on COVID has been to bring partisan legislation to the floor and then demand everyone accept it. Every single iteration has included poison pills designed to ensure that the bill is bad--not consensus proposals.…”