Political Quotes

“I thank the Presiding Officer for giving me the opportunity to share some remarks. I do believe Senator Hatch and Senator Wyden allowed a good debate in the committee. Unfortunately, we have not been able to have the kinds of amendments here on the floor that they allowed in the committee, so we are moving to this massive bill with very little debate, even on the fast-track policy. If that is adopted and TPP appears before us here on the floor, there will be no amendments on it. In a few moments, we will vote on whether to shut off debate on the fast-track authority legislation. I see no reason that we have to rush this. I will just note that we have the highway bill expiring, and we have the PATRIOT Act expiring. Those are crises which need to be dealt with this week. This bill does not have to be done in that fashion. This will be a crucial vote. Fast-track is an affirmative decision by Congress to suspend several of its most basic powers for the next 6 years and to delegate those powers to the Chief Executive. Under the fast-track procedure, the President, not Congress, writes implementing legislation for any yet-unseen global trade pact. That legislation, no matter its contents, cannot be amended in any fashion. No individual Member of Congress can alter any line of text or remove a single provision that violates the will of Congress.…”