Political Quotes

“I rise today in support of Senator Kaine's request for unanimous consent for the Senate to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act. It is a critical bill that I hope all my colleagues would agree needs to be enshrined into law. One of the great strengths of our democracy is that we have an independent, merit-based civil service. Back in the 19th century, we saw what happens when you had a Federal workforce that was made up of a system of spoils and political patronage. So the Congress, back in 1883, said: We ought to put in place an independent civil service. That has been the law of the land for the last 150 years. Virtually every other industrial nation in the world has modeled their independent workforce after the American model. We have 2 million Federal employees across the country. Virginia has 147,000. There are close to that many in Maryland and in the District, but they are all over. Senator Hirono mentioned earlier Hawaii has some of the highest concentration. Senator Kaine's bill, which we are all proud to be cosponsoring, would simply say: Let's not break that system. The idea--and the incoming President has said he wants this--to make and get rid of a merit-based civil service is, in my mind, beyond comprehension.…”