Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend and colleague for a very powerful presentation and for pointing out the sensibility of supporting all of the President's efforts, but particularly as they relate to the ATF, which is the Federal agency charged with enforcing our Nation's gun laws. Two hundred additional agents is the bare minimum that we can hire to make sure that the ATF has the manpower and resources necessary to prevent the illegal trafficking of guns into places like the Brownsville and East Flatbush neighborhoods that Congresswoman Yvette Clarke so passionately represents. If you block funding for the ATF, what you essentially are doing is supporting the efforts of the merchants of death who rely on underenforcement by the ATF, because of an absence of resources, in order to flood communities like Chicago; south central Los Angeles; parts of Brooklyn; Newark, New Jersey; and many other neighborhoods with illegal weapons. Madam Speaker, I yield to my good friend and colleague, Congressman Donald Payne. I thank him as well as R. Kelly. D. Payne and R. Kelly made a fantastic combination. We thank them for their distinguished service last year in leading the CBC Special Order hour. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.”