Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to start by echoing what Senator Brown and Senator Capito and others have said and thank my friend from West Virginia for continuing to wage this fight. It feels a little bit like deja vu all over again. We have been down here time and time and time again to simply reinforce the case that the Senator from West Virginia just went through in terms of history. I think it is sometimes interesting that--I'm sure that the Senator from West Virginia did it earlier than I, but it was the early 1990s, the first time I went underground to see the working conditions of miners across this country. Even though the advances in technology in the 20th century and 21st century still endure, it is hard work. It is gritty work. Many of the miners who have spent years working underground come out with black lung and other illnesses. Their life expectancy is much shorter than so many other jobs. The Senator from West Virginia has already gone through at some length the historic commitment to these miners. It started with President Truman. It was renewed a number of times, Democrats and Republicans alike. Through this past year--again because of the Senator from West Virginia and those of us who tried to help--his State has the most, probably Kentucky has the second most, and Virginia has about 10,000 folks who are affected. We did finally force--and I want to thank the chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee, Senator Hatch and Senator Wyden.…”