Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first of all, I wish to thank my friend the Senator from Michigan for her comments and her views on this nominee. I rise today to add my voice to those expressing concern about the nomination of Betsy DeVos to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education. The chorus of concerns not only comes from those colleagues who have already come to the floor last week or earlier today or throughout the evening and into tomorrow morning, but it also comes from literally tens of thousands of my constituents who have contacted me about Mrs. DeVos. I have been flooded with phone calls, emails, and social media messages from Virginians all across the Commonwealth, in many ways, in numbers that I haven't seen since the debate about the ACA. These Virginians worry about Mrs. DeVos's confirmation. They worry about what it would mean for our children, our students, and for progress toward improving and providing every child with a quality public education regardless of their ZIP Code. Like many of my colleagues, I bring to the debate some direct experience as both a State and local elected official. I had the great honor of serving as Governor of Virginia. I was responsible in that job for how we were preparing our students for success in college and in the workforce. I took that responsibility very personally.…”