Political Quotes

“I am proud and happy to be here on the floor today. On September 11 all of America suffered losses. Some of us suffered more direct losses. And certainly in the last 3 months it has been an extreme struggle trying to figure out the right process, the right way to help make New Yorkers and the victims of those attacks whole again. I want to salute the ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for working hard in a bipartisan fashion on this. I want to especially salute the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) from the Committee on Ways and Means, a fellow New Yorker and a colleague who has dedicated every ounce of energy he has had to this effort and to this particular bill. I especially want to recognize the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means who made commitments repeatedly the day after the attacks and repeatedly throughout this that he was going to work with us in New York to get this done. He has worked diligently. He has done it at breakneck speed getting the bill to the floor in 3 days. I am extremely gratified. The fact is, Mr. Speaker, the change in New York will be incremental. The rebuilding efforts will be incremental. This is an important step in the right direction.”