Political Quotes

“I just want to tell the Senate where we are now and what is ahead. I have asked unanimous consent to confirm an Oregonian whom I have watched in action, Chuck Sams, to head the National Park Service, which has gone leaderless for 5 full years. Now, my colleague has said, to his credit, that Chuck Sams is very well qualified, that he is a good man, that he had good discussions with him. And I would just say to the Senate and my colleague--my colleague and I have worked together often here in the Senate. I remember, as chairman of the Finance Committee, we had some issues on the budget. And we got together, and within 20 minutes we had it worked out. So I would just say to my colleague, I am ready from this minute on to get together with you, to get together with Mr. Sams. We are going to be here, it sounds like, at least today, and then we will have to see. But I just hope we can work this out because I listened to the Senator very carefully. And I have been to Alaska. I went with your colleague Senator Murkowski when I was chairman of the Energy Committee. And I heard my colleague's concerns. Well, to get those kind of concerns addressed--many of them--you have got to have a Director; you have got to have somebody you can hold accountable, somebody you can get on the phone and you can talk to about issues. Chuck Sams is exactly that kind of person.…”