Political Quotes

“today we formally begin the consideration of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States. In a moment, we will proceed to executive session to begin the debate on that nomination. In order to facilitate the debate on the Roberts nomination, we have set aside controlled time so that Members can better plan when they will be speaking to the body. I know many Members will want to come to the floor to speak on this important nomination. However, I hope Senators do not feel compelled to make lengthy statements. We will stay each night this week if the Senators desire to speak, but I would like to reach an agreement as to when that final vote will occur so that Members can plan accordingly. I will be discussing a time certain for that vote with the Democratic leader as we go forward with the debate. Last week, I announced that we would have a vote today beginning approximately 5:30. Shortly, we expect to have that vote locked in by unanimous consent. We have about 24 nominations that are pending on the Executive Calendar. We will likely set one of those pending nominations for a vote. As always, we will alert Members when that vote is set. Also, this week we need to address the continuing resolution as we end the fiscal year. We will continue working on the appropriations process following the vote on the Roberts nomination. The appropriations bill for the Defense Department will be reported this week, and we expect to quickly turn to that bill.…”