Political Quotes

“I prepared an amendment to this appropriations bill that would have prohibited the VA from using fiscal year 1998 dollars to contract with businesses that have serious and repeated violations of Federal labor and safety laws. But I want to remind Members that our Nation's Federal contracting laws are in need of much reform. The amendment I had hoped to offer this evening is similar to H.R. 1624, the Federal Procurement and Assistance Integrity Act that I introduced during this Congress. The amendment would have helped ensure that the VA only does business with entities that comply with the laws that protect America's working men and women from unfair working practices and unsafe workplace conditions. Beverly Enterprises is one of the largest nursing home operations in the United States. It has an extremely poor safety record and a longstanding record of vindictive and illegal labor practices.”