Political Quotes

“we had a very important vote today on asbestos, and we will be proceeding to that bill tomorrow. It is a bill that I feel passionately about, a bill--as I shared with my colleagues who were with me earlier today in Atlanta at the funeral--that reflects, to me, the very best of what this body should be reflecting; that is, compassion for those victims who today are not being compensated, who suffer from asbestos exposure with mesothelioma, with lung cancer, with asbestosis; who today are not getting taken care of. In a sense, they are not getting appropriate compensation, just compensation, either in terms of time in which the decisions are made or in the amount of resources that are to be directed to them. So now is the time for us to address this important issue. It is a jobs issue. We talk about 150,000 people who have lost their jobs. We talk about the 77 companies that have gone bankrupt--not as companies but as employers. And when they go bankrupt, thousands and thousands of people lose their pensions and the jobs are lost. Now is our opportunity. Just yesterday, I know there were a lot of statements made by those on the other side of the aisle that we should stop this bill; it is a bad bill; we should not be addressing it and using postponing procedural moves and delay. But we just can't delay anymore. I am delighted with the outcome of the vote today which shows that this body is ready to take up this important issue.…”