Political Quotes

“I appreciate the comments of the distinguished majority leader, and I will be speaking further on this matter later in the coming week. I thank him and everybody who worked with him for getting us here. I am reminded today that legislating is about making tough choices; it is not about standing on the sidelines and complaining that we can't get a perfect solution enacted. I have been privileged to serve in this great body for 38 years because of the trust of the people of Vermont. In my time here, those 38 years, I have rarely seen such commitment to an issue as I have seen over the last 6 months to comprehensive immigration reform. I think of the dozens of witnesses who came before the Judiciary Committee, such as Jose Antonio Vargas and Gaby Pacheco, who called on the Senate to achieve bipartisan immigration reform. I think of the hours we spent, Republicans and Democrats alike, in the Judiciary Committee considering amendments and debating this bill. What was initially a proposal from the Gang of 8 became, through an extensive committee process, the product of a Group of 18. Since the bill was reported to the Senate floor, bipartisan talks have continued and the circle of Members supporting it has continued to grow. I will speak next week more about those Members, but I hope my friend and neighbor from New York, Senator Schumer, will not be embarrassed when I mention something very few people know about him. He has a 10- pound battery on his cell phone.…”