Political Quotes

“I rise today to talk about an issue of great urgency--the fate of tens of thousands of American workers. In just a matter of weeks, 16,000 coal miners and their dependents will lose their health care coverage and roughly 6,000 others will join that group in the year 2017, and here we are just days away from Congress wrapping up its work for the year. This should be a time to motivate us to action. I have served in Congress a long time, and I know nothing motivates Congress more than a deadline, being up against a deadline, as we are today. This time should be no different, and here is why: Without some resolution before Congress adjourns, the men and women who have powered our Nation and spurred economic growth for generations will have the carpet ripped out from under them. They will lose the health care benefits they so rely on and have been promised. It is important to recognize the risks our coal miners take to better our lives every day. When you visit a coal mine, which I have done--I have been underground in a coal mine--you see the rigorous and often very dangerous working conditions where these men and women do their job every day to provide the energy we need to light this Chamber, to warm our homes, and to keep our classrooms lit. These miners are the pillars of our communities, and many of them are veterans of our Nation. For decades they have worked hard and played by the rules. Yet the realities facing these men and women are stark.…”