Political Quotes

“today we will have a 30-minute period of morning business which will be equally divided between the aisles. After that time we will begin debate on the motion to proceed to the USA PATRIOT Act. Last night there was an objection from the Democratic side to my unanimous consent request to begin consideration of that bill and, because of that objection from the other side of the aisle and expected filibuster, I was forced to file cloture on the motion to proceed. That motion is debatable, and I will alert my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that they will need to remain on the floor during this motion. We only have a few days remaining before the Presidents Day recess, and we need to get to the substance of the underlying bill, the PATRIOT Act. Members have a right to filibuster proceeding to that measure, but I believe we will be able to invoke cloture by a wide margin, again, showing wide support for this important piece of legislation. I will announce the exact timing of the cloture vote when we have that locked in, but it could be as early as 1 o'clock in the morning when we could hold that vote. We will be in discussions with the Democratic leader in terms of the time of that vote and we will be able to announce that later today. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.”