Political Quotes

“I wish to speak on a couple of subjects. The first is to express my regret that the supplemental funding to help Rhode Island in the wake of its unprecedented, historic flooding was stopped on the floor today by a Republican objection. I would have hoped that when a true emergency happened in somebody's home State, with a Presidential disaster declaration, and Senators were working to remedy that, the traditional deference for emergency spending would be appropriate. Senator Reed, as the senior Senator and a member of the Appropriations Committee, is the leader on this issue. He and I will continue to work to get this done for Rhode Island. It is regrettable that conditions on the Senate floor are such that emergency spending-- while we still have people out of their homes, flood damage, unprecedented in Rhode Island's history--is not something on which we simply could have agreed. There are floods in other States, and I assume similar rules will apply when they come forward. Exorbitant Interest Rates The second issue I wish to mention, since I see the distinguished chairman of the Banking Committee, is I continue to hope for and argue for the amendment I have proposed that will do something very helpful for something that bedevils constituents in every single one of our States, which is exorbitant, ridiculous interest rates.…”