Political Quotes

“I am on the floor this afternoon, along with my good friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Connecticut. He is going to be here shortly to speak as well, and I thank him for his leadership throughout the NDAA process. We are here because we strongly believe that in Congress we should be working on ways to boost economic security for more families and help our economy grow from the middle out, not from the top down. A fundamental part of that is making sure our companies pay workers fairly and provide them with safe workplaces and treat them with respect. Unfortunately, Senator Blumenthal and I have come to the floor to speak against a provision that would seriously undermine the spirit of bipartisanship we have cultivated thus far. As it stands, this bill contains a provision that would help shield defense contractors that steal money out of their workers' paychecks or refuse to pay the minimum wage. It would help protect the companies that violate workplace safety laws while receiving taxpayer dollars, and it would allow companies with a history of discriminating against women, people of color, and individuals with disabilities to continue receiving defense contracts, and to me that is unacceptable. For too long, the Federal Government has awarded billions of taxpayer dollars to companies that rob workers of their paychecks and fail to maintain safe working conditions.…”