Political Quotes

“of course, the senior Senator from Florida can speak from experience because he has been there--something no other Senator currently serving has ever done. I believe they are bringing a chair over. If not, I will go get it. On Friday, December 21--coming up fairly soon, just 11 days from today--the continuing resolution, what we call a CR, under which much of the government currently operates, is going to expire. Now, if we don't pass the remaining seven appropriations bills--bills that I believe the Senate is prepared to pass--the government will shutter the doors of nine Federal Departments and dozens of Agencies, and services the American people rely on will grind to a halt, coincidentally, just 3 days before Christmas. There is absolutely no reason for the government to shut down. The Senate and House Appropriations Committees have been negotiating for weeks. I commend those Senators on both sides of the aisle. They have worked with us and certainly our staffs in conducting these negotiations. We have a seven-bill minibus that would fully fund the Federal Government through the remainder of the fiscal year. We are very close to a deal. Six of the seven bills are nearly complete. Most of the funding issues are resolved. Only a few policy issues remain. A few hours of debate, and they would be all done.…”