Political Quotes

“I know a lot of these issues, all of them are very important to all of us as Americans. I know that we probably will end up completing our task this week. I am pleased that we have a balanced budget agreement and the first surplus in over three decades. I am proud of the transportation bill which means a 62 percent increase in Federal transportation dollars for my State, the State of Tennessee. But some things I am not proud of is that we do not have a managed health care bill, no bill to reduce class size and modernize schools, being a former college president, no action to safeguard the surplus for Social Security, no bill to reduce teen smoking, no bill to reform our campaign finance system and no bill to increase the minimum wage for working families. I realize as a Democrat we do not set the rules. We do not have the votes. But there are a lot of issues, there are a lot of problems that are still facing the American people, and we need to work together, hopefully in the 106th Congress better than we have in the 105th Congress, when it comes to being too partisan and being interested in our own vested interest and not in the best interest of the American people.”