Political Quotes

“before I suggest the absence of a quorum, I would like to say that the Constitution calls for treaties to be enacted by this body, which is what we are doing today. Everybody understands what NATO is and has understood it since the late 1940s. This is the kind of treaty that we would like for other people to be a member of, and today Montenegro, which has gone through the full process of accession, hopefully will be passed through this body. This is the last country, by the way--every other country that is a member of NATO has voted to cause Montenegro to join NATO. I know my friend from Maryland, the ranking member, Senator Cardin, has just arrived. I know he has a few words to say. He is a strong supporter of Montenegro's accession, as is the vast majority of this Senate. I will let the comments from the Senator from Kentucky lie. We are doing our constitutional duty by passing a treaty that we all understood. It has been debated fully in committee. It has been passed out twice. I am glad we are doing so. The fact is, this has been blocked by one Senator who wanted to vote on something totally unrelated to this and was using this as leverage. That is what is occurring here, nothing else. We are finally, through cloture, having a vote on something that the majority of people in the Senate want to pass. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.”