Political Quotes

“I am pleased that both Republican and Democrats have accepted my amendment and that it has passed today as part of the unanimous consent agreement. Mr. Chairman, I believe it was a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars by the U.S. Department of Education to pay $240,000 to columnist Armstrong Williams to promote The No Child Left Behind Act. This amendment ensures that it will never happen again by providing that no taxpayer funds shall be used, either directly or indirectly, by private contractors, which include public relations firms, journalists, and media commentators, to support or defeat legislation pending before this Congress. The policy behind my amendment is straightforward. Using taxpayer dollars to bribe journalists to bias their news coverage in favor of legislation is a waste of taxpayer money, it is a black eye on the independence of our free press, and it undermines the integrity of our democracy. Mr. Chairman, let me give you some background as to why this amendment is necessary. In January of this year, media reports revealed that the U.S. Department of Education entered into a $1 million contract with a private contractor, known as the Ketchum Public Relations firm. This PR firm then turned around and paid $240,000 in a sub-contract to newspaper columnist and TV commentator Armstrong Williams to promote The No Child Left Behind Act.…”