Floor Speeches

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said the House farm bill cuts to food stamps, also called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), could not pass in the Senate.

“We shouldn’t be cutting federal nutrition programs,” Brown said Monday. “[The Senate] bill cuts $4 billion from SNAP and that’s already $4 billion too much. … The House’s $20 billion in SNAP cuts won’t pass muster in the Senate and certainly won’t get my support.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) applauded the bipartisan work of the Senate Agriculture Committee for passing out a farm bill, which the Senate will begin considering at 3 p.m. Monday.

“American farmers are counting on us but so is the economy,” Reid said on the Senate floor Monday. “To keep America and farms strong the Congress must pass a strong farm bill.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he thinks President Obama made a mistake Thursday by not saying directly that no one in the White House was aware of the scandal at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

“I have tremendous respect for the office of the president,” Rubio said moments after Obama held a press conference. “[But] I think the president today potentially made a mistake in a comment he made.”

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) urged his colleagues Thursday to support a bill he introduced, which would eliminate oil exports from Iran by expanding U.S. production.

The Iran Sanctions Implementation Act, S. 965, would require President Obama to expand U.S. domestic oil production on federal lands to offset Iran’s oil exports to the international community.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee demanded that the Treasury Inspector General investigate the “inappropriate harassment of conservative groups” by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

“No one should be intimidated by the government into shutting up as part of our political process,” McConnell said Thursday. “And that’s why the Republican members of the Finance Committee are sending a letter today to Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration requesting investigation into this very issue. Because, without this sort of inquiry, we may never have confirmed the inappropriate harassment of conservative groups that was going on at the IRS for two years.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans lied to the media when they said the Obama administration engaged in a cover-up on the Benghazi attack.

“For months my Republican colleagues have argued that the Obama administration has engaged in a cover-up surrounding an attack in Benghazi,” Reid said Thursday. “The emails prove there was simply no cover-up.”

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said House Republicans are “debating what they will write on a ransom note” instead of agreeing to go to conference on the budget.

“House Republican’s are meeting to discuss what they will ask for in exchange for not tanking the economy,” Murray said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “They are debating what they will write on a ransom note.”

Newly elected Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) was officially sworn into office Wednesday evening.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he would grill Army officials testifying before his Appropriation subcommittee next week on the growing problem of military sexual assaults.

“Reports of widespread sexual assaults in the armed services show a disgraceful culture of abuse that must be stopped,” Durbin said Wednesday. “Next week, the Army will be before my subcommittee and they will face tough questions about these accusations.”

Some members of the House, faced with several daunting issues including scandals in the IRS and Justice Department, are finding that the only way to explain how they feel is to quote famous musicians.

Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) started the trend Wednesday while speaking about the IRS and Justice scandals, both of which he said threaten free speech. The IRS has admitted to scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of conservative groups, and Justice has admitted to seizing the phone records of Associated Press reporters.