Political Quotes

“Mr. President, over the past week, the Senate has debated and amended the financial services and general government appropriations bill. It is the first time that this bill has the potential to cross the floor of this Senate since 2007, when the bill was created. Not one time has it passed the Senate since this appropriations bill was created. Usually, this particular appropriations bill is airdropped into an end-of-the-year spending package or an omnibus without ever being publicly debated, without ever coming to the Senate floor, without a single amendment. This year changed that. This bill has been on this floor this entire week. And it was here last week. And it is being amended. And it is going through a process. That may not seem like a big deal to some. That should be a no-brainer for most Americans, certainly for most Oklahomans. They would think, of course, the bill is being amended and debated. But that has not happened since 2007, and we are changing a process, trying to relearn how to actually pass bills--to debate them and to go through this process. I think countless Americans across the country who complain about the inaction of Congress and all the backroom deals have been justified in their complaints about this bill. But I am telling you, we are at a historic turning point of trying to shift this process around. We have demonstrated that appropriations bills can be debated and amended in an open, orderly, and fair process for all of the country to see.…”