Political Quotes

“with this closed rule, we have run out of gas on gag rules. It was clear from day one that there would not be opportunity to be heard on this election year gimmick. There is no guarantee that the repeal of this tax will trickle down to our constituents--and thus this is just another Gingrich gift for corporate America and fat cat contributors. The one way to guarantee that working people will feel any benefit from our action on the gas tax would be through the compromise I wanted to offer today. I start with the premise that repealing this tax is wrong. In 1993, Democrats, alone, had the courage to pass the largest deficit reduction effort in history and it is working. We have cut the deficit in half, and just today the estimate of the deficit was lowered by another $15 billion. We should not go back. My compromise recognizes the political reality--it is going to pass. My amendment would repeal half of it. The rest--2.1 cents of it--would be directed toward underfunded mass transportation infrastructure. If we are really serious about helping working people get to work--cheaply, reliably, and environmentally friendly--than helping mass transit stay alive is where we should invest. Mass transit is also one of the tools for genuine welfare reform.”