Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. We pride ourselves on being the most deliberative body on the planet, and all of us come here to contribute our best ideas to improve the lives of the American people. You wonder why this place doesn't work? It is the whole set of exclusion of ideas from nearly half this body. I am one of those people who has offered just about 25 amendments that were blocked by the Republicans. What are they afraid of? Debate your ideas. Make your arguments. Vote. Be held accountable. Some of the things they blocked, the amendments I offered: an amendment to increase student loan interest tax deductions in our tax bill; a provision to end tax breaks for companies that ship American jobs overseas; an amendment to increase funding to combat violent extremism; and an amendment to increase funding for fire departments in the SAFER grants. Those are just four examples. Their practice, they marked an important moment in history, not a good moment: the most closed Congress in the history of the United States, excluding from consideration debate, argument, and accountability. Vote on these things so the American people know where you stand. That is what we have here, over 1,000 ideas proffered by Democrats that our Republican colleagues won't even bring to the floor for consideration so the American people know where they stand on a range of important issues. This is a dark day for Congress, the most closed Congress in our history.…”