Political Quotes

“If the Senator from New Jersey will give me a courtesy of 5 minutes to speak as in morning business and I will be through. I appreciate what the majority leader has said. I will work my side of the aisle, to see if the possibility of moving this is there and I will give it my 100-percent effort between now and next Monday when I see the majority leader to see if we cannot do it. I will make a couple of points. Our Nation is in big trouble and we are not acting as if it is in big trouble. It seems that the way we are operating is from crisis to crisis. That is not good for the country, it is not good for the agencies, it is certainly not good for the individuals, and it makes it where we actually cannot do effective legislating. The idea behind the flood insurance program is almost 50 years old. There is nothing wrong with its intent. But we cannot afford $900 million a year in subsidies to the very wealthy in this country for their second or vacation homes. If we are talking about fairness, as the President talks, then it is time to reform this program--whether it is with an extension or not--this component of it where there is a fair premium, where we are not subsidizing those who can in fact take care of themselves in this country. Whether it is this bill or the farm bill where we are subsidizing 4 percent of the farmers with 60 percent of the crop insurance premium, it is the same issue.…”