Political Quotes

“This is a well-intentioned issue in the sense that all this amendment says is that none of the funds in this bill should be used to violate the Constitution of the United States, the Fifth and the 14th Amendment, so I'm sure there will be those who want to adhere to it. But this is not the appropriate place to be dealing with this issue. This is an appropriations bill. We've had dozens of riders, one after another, with people trying to get at other issues. Now, there is no instance, no matter what the purpose, under which we should be condemning law enforcement when they are carrying out appropriate responsibilities, and they should be given the benefit of the doubt. In the same instance, we have a responsibility to uphold the Constitution. The Constitution is clear in its delineation that you can't discriminate. And we shouldn't--it's not good law enforcement practices, no matter who you're looking for, to act in ways in which you close your eyes to other possibilities. If you're looking for terrorists, they don't come in any particular subset or group. And I know that wise law enforcement is aware of this, and that they look across the board at what the vulnerabilities may be. I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his steadfastness in trying to protect against religious bigotry or ethnic discrimination or unintentional stepping across the line, however one might want to look at this.…”