Political Quotes

“I rise to take this 5-minute special order to discuss the budget and my concerns with the lack of progress and really the lack of response from the administration. We have heard continuously from some of those Members on the minority side that this really has been caused by a group of so-called radical freshmen Republican Members. Well, I rise as a five-term Republican who over the 10 years I have been in Congress have supported and worked with my colleagues on the other side on labor issues, even opposing NAFTA when my party and this President supported NAFTA; working with Members of the other side on issues like family and medical leave; issues involving reform of Davis-Bacon that is acceptable to the labor unions and the working people of this country; and working on environmental issues and environmental legislation, opposing the riders that were attempted to be inserted in the bill. So I am not someone who rises as someone who has always been against the President. To the contrary, I have been supportive of some of the issues that this administration has supported. But, Mr. Speaker, that is not what this debate is about. This debate really is about this President finally being called to task to live up to commitments that he has made publicly. He has gotten away with saying one thing and doing something else on numerous occasions that I cannot cite here today.”