Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I think Senator Menendez asked the right question in the absence of this Chamber doing the right thing, and that is staying consistent with what the Republican leader, Senator McConnell, said some years ago. He said that sunlight is the best disinfectant and that we should disclose everything. He wanted unlimited--mostly, I believe, if I recall, unlimited contributions but full disclosure. He has changed his position. I assume it is to protect the oil industry and perhaps the Chinese money that is coming in in these elections or the big Wall Street banks that have opposed my election, as well as the Presiding Officer because of his work on banking issues, and will come in against him in Oregon. I stand behind this idea Senator Menendez suggested, which is that if the Senate won't move, voters will start asking the question, Who is giving this money, and why are they putting in this kind of money? I rise--and I thank Senator Shaheen for her leadership--because big corporations and wealthy investors are flooding our elections with campaign money. They are looking for gain. We don't really know whom the money is from. We can guess. In my State, we think it is oil companies. We think it is Wall Street banks. We think it could be money from Chinese interests, whether it is money laundered from China through American corporations or directly from American corporations that specialize in outsourcing jobs to China and making more money.…”