Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak on some of the issues that were just addressed by the Republican leader; that is, the legislation we will hopefully turn to next about creating jobs. There are a lot of occasions when legislation comes to the floor of this Senate where I, similar to many Members, have a view on it, and we kind of weigh in on our positions. But this legislation, as it comes forward, is something for which I have more than just an intellectual or political or philosophical viewpoint. This legislation actually involves the business I was in for nearly 20 years. I was proud of the fact that starting in the early 1980s--up until the time I was elected Governor of Virginia--I was involved, originally as an angel investor and then as a venture capitalist, in helping start companies across this country. I am proud to have been involved as a venture capitalist in funding almost 70 companies--those companies that grew to now employ tens of thousands of Americans. As the Acting President pro tempore and some of the folks realize, a lot of those companies I was involved with were involved in telecommunications. I was the cofounder of Nextel, although I cannot seem to turn my cell phone off at the appropriate times. But I think that background gave me some sense of what it means to find a management team to find the capital and get a company started, to allow it to grow, create jobs, create economic prosperity.…”