Political Quotes

“Mr. President, 2 years ago the American people entrusted Republicans with the Senate majority. At that time, things were in a bad way here in the Senate. Under Democratic control, the legislative process almost ground to a halt. Important bills weren't getting passed, and those that did get passed were frequently drafted behind closed doors, with Republicans and many rank-and-file Democrats shut out of the process, which, of course, means that the American people's voices were frequently shut out of the process. When Republicans took control, we knew that getting the Senate working again had to be our first priority, and that is what we did. We opened up debate so Senators from both parties could make their voices heard. We started drafting legislation in committee again so that bills were the result of discussion and compromise instead of being dictated by Democratic Party leaders. And we got the Senate passing real, substantial legislation again--a balanced budget, appropriations bills, the first major Energy bill since the Bush administration, and the first significant education reform since 2002. I am particularly proud of two bills that the committee I chair, the Commerce Committee, worked on--a Federal Aviation Administration bill with major airport security provisions and the first long-term Transportation bill since 2005.…”