Political Quotes

“Two things: number one, we can't have a comprehensive, one-size-fits-all bill that applies to regulations. It requires some judgment. That means that there are some regulations that are good, some are bad. The gentleman, I think, is defending a bill that essentially has, as its proposition, all regulations, by definition, are detrimental to the economy, when that's not even close to accurate. Second, I appreciate the gentleman's description of a waiver process that gives, unfortunately, a theoretical way to resolve a situation, but it's not a practical remedy. It requires congressional action. And here's, Mr. Chairman, where I think we've got to get real with ourselves, and we've got to get real with the American people. The idea that we can agree on a disputed regulation would suggest that we could have agreed on student loan interest rates, that we could have agreed on the debt ceiling, that we could have agreed on a grand bargain. All of these issues that are enormously contentious and consequential for the American people, we have sharp divisions. And I'm not asserting who's right or wrong in this. I'm saying that all of us have to acknowledge the obvious and, that is, that Congress is pretty close to dysfunctional. Things that have to be addressed are being neglected.…”