Political Quotes

“Mr. President, yesterday, the Republican leader, my friend, announced that the Senate would hold two votes on Thursday afternoon. First, the Senate will vote on the President's proposal, and then the Senate will vote on an amendment that is essentially identical to the underlying bill sent to us from the House, meaning a continuing resolution that opens the government for 3 weeks plus disaster assistance. Let me be very clear. These two votes are not equivalent votes. It is not ``on the one hand, on the other hand.'' The President's proposal demands a wall and radical legal immigration changes in exchange for opening up the government. The second vote demands nothing in exchange for opening up the government. The first vote--unless you do it my way, I am keeping the government shut down--is the Trump amendment. Our amendment says: Open up the government, and then let's talk. To say, well, one is a Democratic amendment and one is a Republican amendment doesn't get the magnitude of this. The difference is one is holding 800,000 workers hostage--millions of Americans hostage--unless the amendment authors get their way. The second vote doesn't demand anything. It just says to open up the government and then let's discuss it. The first vote, on the President's plan, includes radical changes to our asylum system and the full funding the President asked for the border wall in exchange for reopening the government. The first vote is completely partisan.…”