Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am disappointed that my colleagues have come to the floor to stand in the way of a debate, in this esteemed Chamber, over issues of freedom, issues of opportunity, and issues of equality that affect millions of LGBTQ Americans. What did we hear in their conversation? My colleague from Utah says there is no chance for debate. Has my colleague forgotten that bringing a bill to the floor brings it to debate? Is that such a lost art in the Senate that my colleague thinks debating a bill on the floor somehow squelches debate? It is a mystery to me how one can make the argument that bringing a bill to the floor kills debate. My colleague from Oklahoma laments there is no committee action. Well, my colleague might be reminded that for 400 days this party has controlled whether or not there is committee action on this bill; that it is the majority that decides whether a committee addresses the issues before it. Is not 400 days of inaction in committee an argument to have the conversation here as a committee of the whole? Isn't that what we are asking for--a committee of the whole to debate these key issues? My colleagues have also referred to how somehow this bill affects religious rights, and I am taken back through the history of the conversation and dialogue about equality and opportunity in America, how every time we seek to end discrimination, someone says: But wait-- religious rights.…”