Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this is a very sad day for the American people. There was an opportunity with the Democrats in the Senate and the Republicans in the Senate. Eighty-nine of them, including my senior Senator, Lamar Alexander, Senator Heller, a former colleague, a classmate in this class, Senator Lugar, Senators Collins, Snowe, and others came together. They said, We need to protect the American people, protect the opportunity to see doctors when you're on Medicare, get unemployment insurance and keep the tax breaks. They came together and said, Let's do it for 60 days. We can come back later and then we can work on it for the rest of the year. They knew what was possible within the time allotted to it. Unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side don't realize what time makes available. There is no possibility of the Senate coming back and having a conference committee. They are saying ``Bah, humbug'' to the compromise and the bipartisanship that we saw in the Senate. It's an unfortunate day for the American people, and I'm sorry for my folks who will not be able to get doctors to treat them, unemployment compensation, or a tax break.”