Political Quotes

“Madam President, we still remain hopeful as the hours, unfortunately, click down towards what could happen in this country if we do not pay our debts. It has never happened in American history. I know when we woke up this morning, when America woke up, they saw Leader Reid, the Democratic leader, the majority leader, and Leader McConnell, the Republican leader from Kentucky, coming together in discussion, coming together on a plan, and they are pretty close to agreement. We know there are still problems in the House of Representatives. I think some of us in this body are fans of Abraham Lincoln, and many of us have studied a lot of things Lincoln said and did. Lincoln used to talk about--when his staff wanted him to stay at the White House to win the war and free the slaves and preserve the Union--he said: I have to go out and get my public opinion bath. I think some of my colleagues in the House could learn something from going out and listening to real people, not just going on talk radio, not just going to their country clubs, but to listen to people talk about their lives and what this government shutdown has meant. It has meant more than 50,000 jobs in my State--people who are furloughed. Madam President, 97 percent of NASA employees in Cleveland and Sandusky in northern Ohio have been furloughed. We know what it has meant to Battelle Memorial Institute, one of the great research facilities in the country. They run the energy labs.…”