Political Quotes

“my friend from Louisiana makes a curious set of arguments. The single word he used most in his remarks was ``compromise,'' that this provision is now the result of a compromise of 4 years' work. No; this provision is not the result of 4 years of work. This provision is the result of a discussion that took place after this bill was reported from the Commerce Committee, after all of the open public hearings and all the open discussion. And what kind of compromise was it? Well, it was a compromise between the big unions, the big carriers and maybe some of the big shippers. It isn't a compromise that involved its victims. No representative of small shippers was in the room where this ``compromise'' was made. None of the small businessmen who were middlemen were in the room when this ``compromise'' was made. A curious compromise, I must say, when the victims were excluded from it, after having been a part of everything that went on for the 4 years of work on this bill up through and including its report from the Commerce Committee. No, this was not a compromise; this was a backroom deal, the worst kind of backroom deal.”