Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, we are here today to talk a little bit about what we just saw, which is what the gentleman from Texas is talking about, this vote that we just had with the condemnation of shutdown. Let's just be clear. Nobody--nobody--in this House, whether it be Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, anywhere in between, or in the Senate, nobody votes for shutdown. There is no bill that says: Are you voting ``yea'' to shut down the Federal Government or are you voting ``nay''? That is not how this goes. What happens is we are trying to fund. It is an appropriations bill. And ``appropriation'' is a fancy way of just saying: We are taking your tax dollars, and this what we are spending. This is our priority. This is how we are spending it. There is a disagreement, and we can't come to an agreement. Nothing happens. That is the problem: nothing happens. So the Federal Government shuts down. Now, we had a discussion earlier on when I said: Look, we are having this vote today to condemn this horrible thing. That doesn't fix anything. It doesn't solve a thing. It is just theater. And the American people and our country have big issues at stake that we need to get to solving. This doesn't solve anything. This is just: Let's make sure we place blame where we think blame is so we can pound our chest and feel good and we can--oh, by the way-- cover for some of our Members who voted ``no'' on paying Federal employees who were working. That is what this was all about.…”