Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, this is a historic day in this House: the first woman ever elected Speaker; the first woman, Louise Slaughter, to be chairman of the powerful Rules Committee. In addition to that, Ms. Slaughter and Speaker Pelosi have put together a package that is indeed a historic, comprehensive ethics package that deserves the support of each and every Member of this body. In the last Congress, we saw egregious abuses of power by Members of Congress and lobbyists. These abuses tarnished the image of this great institution and caused Americans to lose faith with their government. In the face of these scandals, America had its midterm election and the American people decided decisively to put a new party in charge here in the House of Representatives. They sent a message loud and clear that it was time to clean up the Congress, and in fact exit polls showed that nearly 92 percent of the voters were concerned with the ethical cloud hanging over Washington. What did they ask for? They asked for honest leadership and open government, and this package presented today by Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Pelosi and the leadership is the most significant, comprehensive ethics reform that has ever been presented on the first day of an opening of this Congress. This is a rules package that cuts the ties to the old culture of corruption and in its place creates a new culture of disclosure, of accountability, and of oversight.”