Political Quotes

“this is a very curious motion to instruct. In fact, it is the most curious motion to instruct I have seen in 26 years. Why? Well, first of all, it was originally drafted and submitted to this body on September 19. That is right, September 19, 5 weeks ago. At that time we had not begun the negotiations with the White House or our friends in the minority party on what the final appropriations agreement would include or not include. At this point, to instruct the House and Senate conferees in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriation bills on issues that have already been thoroughly discussed and tentatively agreed to, and in other instances totally agreed to, just does not make sense. Mr. Speaker, this motion is irrelevant given the status of our negotiations; and as such, I oppose the gentlewoman's motion, as should anyone who is working in good faith to successfully conclude work on the bill. I want to thank Members of both parties and the White House representatives for working tirelessly the last 9 days, including last Saturday and Sunday, day and night, to fashion an agreement in which Members from both parties can take pride. It is my hope that when our work is complete, we will continue funding to assist schools in their efforts to reduce class size with qualified teachers.”