Political Quotes

“What is really concerning about this, Mr. Chairman, is if we look at the fact that 44 attorneys general from all across America have spent months and months negotiating on this issue of tobacco and FDA regulations, when we look at the fact that there have been literally millions of pages of newspapers all across America debating the issue of tobacco in America and what we are going to do about it, to think that we are going to limit, in the people's House, we are going to limit the debate on this major, fundamentally important issue to 5 minutes here or 15 minutes here is an outrage. America is waiting for a discussion about how we are going to protect the next generation of Americans from the leading preventable cause of death in America. We are saying that we do not want to debate this, we are going to limit debate, because it is 11:30 at night and some Members may be tired. It makes us wonder how the tobacco companies really work and when they are working and where they are working. We ought to have a substantive discussion, it seems to me, about tobacco in this country, and it seems that the majority has been running away from this discussion. Let us have this discussion and have a rule, maintain the rule, and let us get up and debate this. I just want to say that I, too, am outraged that they, the majority party, could even contemplate such a ridiculous move.”