Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the legislation before us is the small business bill, which includes a number of provisions. I have stated before in comments on the floor that there are a number of concerns I have about the $30 billion lending fund that is included in what is now the Baucus-Landrieu substitute amendment to the small business bill. I simply say, in reaction to the comments of the Senator from Illinois, because a suggestion was made that somehow Republicans were trying to block this bill, I think everybody should know this is being debated under a procedure that is very unique. The Democratic leader filled the tree, which blocks Republicans from offering amendments. So it should come as no surprise that the minority party would react negatively to not being able to have any of their amendments considered or voted on in a debate about legislation such as a small business bill, which we happen to think is very important. The suggestion was made by the Senator from Illinois that, again, somehow Republicans are being resistant to or blocking this, I think, misses the broader point, which is that there are a number of us who have amendments we would like to offer to try to improve the bill and make it better. But the majority party has filled the tree, and that means, in layman's terms, that they are not going to allow any amendments. This is being considered under a procedure that doesn't allow us to offer amendments, and I have a couple that are filed at the desk.…”