Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we are about to start our traditional August recess. Congress is in an interesting place because we not only get a recess--a vacation--as many Americans do, but we are legally required to take one. That is right. By an act of Congress, Congress is required, absent a separate agreement, to take a month off during August. I learned that just yesterday during a great presentation from one of our Senate Historians, Kate Scott. This mandated August adjournment is part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. The act provides that in odd-numbered years, the Houses adjourn from the first Friday in August until the Tuesday after Labor Day. There is an exception: The mandated recess ``shall not be applicable if on July 31 of such year a state of war exists pursuant to a declaration of war by Congress.'' Again, the mandated recess is not applicable if on July 31 of such year a state of war exists pursuant to a declaration of war by Congress. This provision makes basic sense, doesn't it? Congress shouldn't go out for a mandatory 30-day vacation when the Nation is at war. It is not right that American troops should risk their lives overseas far from home while Congress takes a month off. The Congress that passed this bill in 1970 had an expectation about how serious war was and how Congress--the institution charged with declaring war--would treat such a serious obligation. Well, we are about to go on a 1-month adjournment with the Nation at war.…”