Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first, this is an opportunity for me to commend and thank the Senator from Oklahoma for extraordinary leadership on the committee. Obviously, we were all inspired by Chairman McCain and his incredible leadership over the last many, many years, but the Senator from Oklahoma has stood up there and really set a tone--and I think the Presiding Officer understands because he was there--of very purposeful, very deliberate, very collegial activity to bring everyone involved into the process. We were operating basically under the rules of appropriateness for the committee and a close connection to the Department of Defense because, as Chairman Inhofe said, this is ultimately about the men and women wearing the uniform of the United States. Always, every year--we will pass this bill; I am confident of that because of the chairman's leadership and because of colleagues like the Presiding Officer. But each and every year, people see this as the only train leaving town, and we have to be able to keep in balance that this is about the Department of Defense and related agencies, like the National Nuclear Security Administration, for example, and the DOE and other agencies. We would like to be able to open up the floor to amendments that are closely connected and have a clear nexus to the Department of Defense, and the men and women in the Department of Defense, and then have votes. That is the ideal, and we hope we can do that.…”