Political Quotes

“For the second time in a week, I rise in half-hearted support for the continuing resolution before us. This is the third time the Republican majority has brought us to the brink of a shutdown in just the past 11 weeks. It has been over 2\1/2\ months since we passed a bipartisan 2- year budget agreement that set guidelines for appropriations. We should have final bills signed into law by now. There are no excuses for these constant delays. Unfortunately, Republicans' insistence on including dangerous, harmful policies in spending bills that would restrict women's reproductive health decisions, harm the environment, and roll back consumer protections, just to name a few, delayed the ability of Congress to come to a fair, bipartisan agreement on time. However, we did know throughout this process that Republicans would need Democratic votes to pass the omnibus. That is why I am pleased to say we were able to get rid of more than 150 poison pill riders, including those related to women's health, labor, such as efforts to block the fiduciary rule and the joint employer rule, consumer financial protection, clean air and water--all gone. However, I was disappointed we were unable to reverse a 19-year-old prohibition on Federal funding for the research of gun violence. The budget agreement enacted in November provided additional funding, allowing us to make critical investments, reflecting Democratic values.…”