Political Quotes

“What a truly disappointing presentation. Mr. Speaker, this is not about "gimmicks," and it is not really even about Texas teachers. It is about whether this Congress will have on the floor of the House its first ever vote in recent memory on correcting the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision. Last year, when the constituents of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) contacted him about this, he said that these provisions seemed to be "most unfair." He pointed out, quite correctly, that "about 40 percent of the total number of affected beneficiaries are widows and widowers"; that "240,000 affected beneficiaries are women." I think that we need an opportunity in this Congress to address the Government Pension Offset. When the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) released the GAO report to which he has referred today, although he and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) use terms like "fraud" and attack the professional associations of our teachers in Texas, although he even has the audacity today to invoke our soldiers overseas against our police officers and our firefighters and teachers who deserve a GPO correction, when the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) introduced the GAO report, he said "The apparently growing use" of what he calls a loophole "is only a symptom of general concern about whether the GPO itself is fair. . . . That is why my plan . . . would reduce the Government Pension Offset."”