Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. My good friend from Georgia knows we've had a lot of opportunities to work together on many different issues. It seems as if he is raising an issue that would have a sense of agreement, but I have to reluctantly and vigorously oppose the gentleman's amendment. The Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Transportation losing the amount of money that he has suggested will deprive that office of viable and important staff and resources for compliance. Frankly, this agency governs billions of dollars of Federal dollars. In addition, it governs actions that deal with accommodations, the utilization of dollars for small, minority, and disadvantaged businesses. The civil rights section has been a section that has ensured that the Federal dollars in transportation are used in a way that is not discriminatory. I don't believe, in 2012, we need to be rising to eliminate opportunity. We need to expand opportunity. The civil rights section of the Department of Transportation has always been a consistent and efficient subsection of the agency that has been the guidepost of ensuring that our Federal dollars are used appropriately as it relates to Native Americans, used appropriately as it relates to Latinos, African Americans, Caucasians. It is a civil rights office that balances and ensures nondiscrimination, including nondiscrimination against the disabled.…”