Political Quotes

“I am very pleased that we now have a straightforward, bipartisan compromise to fund the government and avoid a pointless, devastating shutdown. I hope every single one of my colleagues will join us in voting to pass this bill. Our work does not end here. My hope is that now we can get going in earnest on hammering out bipartisan full-year funding bills, including providing long overdue disaster assistance. It is time for Democrats and Republicans to negotiate those bills together instead of House Republicans just following the loudest voices on the far right, because it is getting a little exhausting to watch some House Republicans push again and again for the most extreme, partisan cuts and policies--stuff that is not realistic at all--before learning the same lessons the hard way yet again. You cannot strike a deal to govern with people who do not really want to govern. You can't avoid a shutdown trying to placate the people who want a shutdown. But here is the important thing: You do not have to waste time trying. If you are serious about governing, you do not have to let a few extreme House Republicans set the agenda or let Donald Trump call the shots. There is a better way, and I know because it is the path that we have been following here in the Senate. Vice Chair Collins and I passed 11 funding bills out of our committee with overwhelming bipartisan support.…”