Political Quotes

“once again we find ourselves in a too familiar position. Secret meetings over the financial future of our country are being held as we head toward the final hours--really final minutes as has been the pattern around here--of an agreement that will be produced for us and expected to be passed by a committee of 12. It is less than a week until the deadline and no language has been made public. The American people should be able to make their voice heard before the committee votes because the truth is, once that vote happens there will be no opportunity to change their product. It will be up or down, the train will have left the station. The bill will, hopefully, be a good bill that can pass but we will not have any opportunity to amend it. That is not the way Congress was set up to work. I happened to catch, this morning, a statement by former Secretary of Defense under President Bush and President Obama, Robert Gates. This is a statement he made in an interview: I think, frankly, the creation of this supercommittee was a complete abdication of responsibility on the part of Congress. It basically says, ``This is too hard for us. Give us a BRAC.…”