Political Quotes

“the lesson of the past few years has been that bipartisanship is key to getting things done in the Senate, even in these divided times. A few months ago, bipartisan majorities in both Chambers passed an agreement on appropriations top lines for the fiscal year 2024 and avoided a catastrophic default, which would have been so damaging to America. Since then, Senate appropriators, led by Chair Patty Murray and Vice Chair Susan Collins, have drafted legislation honoring this bipartisan agreement. It took months of work and a lot of compromise, but all 12 appropriations bills have made it through the committee, all of them bipartisan and many with unanimous support. Nobody got everything they wanted, but disagreements did not stymie progress. So, again, bipartisanship is getting things done. That has been proven over and over again in recent years. But the reverse is also true. When a small band of Senators chooses partisanship over progress--when they mimic the chaos of the House Freedom Caucus--it threatens the good work of this Chamber. That is what happened last Thursday, when one Senator's objections prevented us from moving forward with the appropriations process. One Member, mimicking the House Freedom Caucus, has derailed the Senate and prevented us from considering amendments, including Republican amendments. It is a reminder that in both Chambers a small band of hard-right Republicans are dead set on grinding down the gears of government.…”