Political Quotes

“I thank my friends, colleagues, and fellow Americans. Please, listen. I'm not here to defend this government shutdown. Long after we are gone, people are going to remember the rancor of this House, not the good we've done. I don't defend the decision to shut down the National Institutes of Health. It's too valuable. It funds lifesaving research and has a hospital that cares for 200 adults and children waiting for experimental treatments to save their lives. When asked about shutting down the NIH, even if it saves one child with cancer, Senator Reid said, Why would I want to do that? He added that he has people on an Air Force base with ``problems of their own.'' Now, I don't think the Senator is heartless as some have alluded. Rather, I believe he's an honorable man, and it pains him to know that the NIH is closed just because reasonable people cannot sit down and talk. I also believe the President is an honorable man who doesn't want the NIH to close, even though with the stroke of his pen he could declare it open. But here he is immersed in a battle just because some people refuse to sit down and talk. I believe our colleagues are honorable, Mr. Speaker. None of us want people with terminal illness hurt. Let's not make the NIH a political battlefield. While some still refuse to sit down and talk, at least let our hearts be with those who suffer. Let us do the honorable thing and keep alive the hopes of those who wait for a cure.…”