Political Quotes

“I thank Chairman Murray for her leadership and for her fairness in helping us move a lot of amendments fairly and equitably tonight. We are in a situation where--no need to debate it into the night--I wish we had not been in a position where the majority leader was determined to finish this weekend. I wish we could have started earlier in the week or to come back on April 8, but that is not possible. We have gone 4 years without a budget, and Members have been constricted in the filing of amendments this year more than any other time in probably the history of the Senate. One has to ask or beg permission to be allowed to have an amendment. Senator Ayotte is one of those. Senator Moran and others had amendments. So they are frustrated, and they want their votes. So I would just say, let's keep going. Let's keep in good humor. Let's try to get as many of these votes in as possible. I have had several Members suggest that we might vote from our chairs and not leave the Chamber and cut these rollcall votes down to a much shorter period of time. Maybe we could discuss that. But I think the list needs to be continued to be produced. A number of Senators haven't had amendments, and they really feel as though they have a right to. And this may be their only opportunity, the way things are going this year, to even get a vote on something they care about. So that is my observation. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Washington.”