Political Quotes

“in watching this debate, at times I see a Senator who actually wants to stand up and be the conscience of the Nation. Unfortunately, some quickly want to step back from that precipice and be the conscience of a lobby on one side or the other. As far as being the conscience, we saw that last Thursday when the Senate rejected the ill-conceived filibuster against considering the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013. The vast majority of American people did not want it filibustered. They wanted us to have the courage to stand up and vote yes or no, not vote maybe, which is what a filibuster is. After considering the bipartisan efforts of Senator Manchin and Senator Toomey to plug loopholes in the background check system, the Senate will consider a partisan alternative offered by Senator Grassley, and I will speak about that in a moment. Before I do that, I would like to talk about what Senator Collins and I have done. I have a bipartisan amendment that will prevent criminals from circumventing the existing background check system. Amendment No. 713 (Purpose: To increase public safety by punishing and deterring firearms trafficking) Mr. President, I call up my amendment numbered 713, the Leahy-Collins amendment, which is at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Vermont [Mr. Leahy] for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mr. King, proposes an amendment numbered 713.”