Political Quotes

“as I am sure is the case with each of those who have spoken tonight, I come to these remarks with a heavy heart, one of the more difficult remarks that I make here I guess for two reasons, both because of my affection for Al and because he is not here to help me with the speech. As I look back over the floor, I see the spots where I would see Al sitting with John Buckley and Janice Mays and Dan Maffei, with Beth Vance and other members of the staff of our committee, knowing the loss that each of us speaks of tonight as a Member is a loss that has been suffered by his colleagues who worked with him, the closest as staff members on the Committee on Ways and Means. But I think of the many times that I have been here when I was over there vigorously scribbling the final notes of what I might say in rebuttal to some argument I heard when Al would come over and note something that had been omitted from the debate and totally change my speech; or when having concluded that the strongest argument for our side was a particular bit of data, I would turn to Al and have him indicate that it really was not quite as solid as perhaps the sheet that had come out from one of the various groups particularly interested in the matter might have indicated and that a stronger argument was to be found somewhere else. Al did all this with that sense of gentleness, of cooperation that has been spoken of by others here tonight. He was a remarkable individual.…”