Political Quotes

“I would like to thank the gentleman from Maine for providing an opportunity for civility and dialogue on the true grit of the American constituency. I am amazed, I'm shocked, that we would be here on floor of the House denigrating an institution that has been accepted as a rainy day umbrella, I have said it often, for individuals who've toiled in the hot sun and skyscrapers on building infrastructure, on driving buses and trains, or however they may have provided for their families, and they have now lost their jobs. They dutifully paid into the insurance pool called unemployment insurance. They followed the laws of their State. Some of them may be veterans who are now in the civilian workforce, and they are chagrined that they find themselves unemployed. Now we have those who would say idle hands are the devil's workshop and who want to insist that these are drug addicts, that they're uneducated, that they need a GED, and that they have all kinds of baggage that will not allow them to be gainfully employed. Mr. Speaker, I'm very sorry to say that is not true. I know in my own community we are more fortunate than others regarding the amount of unemployed individuals. But I know in the devastated communities people want to work. I have had individuals come to my office over and over again. I have seen people line up in the hot sun across this Nation this past summer attempting to get jobs. So I simply want to join with the gentleman's motion to instruct.…”