"were prepared to"

[free thinker]

AOA....Dear friends...me cuming back to irritate u

Members of Congress from both political parties had made it clear they were prepared to impose testing and penalties on base ball if the players and management didn't reach a deal themselves.

Here, why can use "were prepared to" ?

What is the tense of this usage?

Thanks in advance.

In written English past tenses usually do change into past perfect while being transformed from direct to indirect speech but tenses in indefinite time clauses usually do not change.
(A Practical English Grammar - Oxford University Press)

[free thinker]

Thank you very much brother

Well, There is another question:

In the sentence, ...they were prepared to impose..., they indicates the members of Congress, right?

Then, the members of Congress should prepare to impose, not were prepared to impose.

It shouldn't be passive.Why does the sentense go this way?

Thank in advance.

dear free thinker....wats wrong in the over all syntax of the original sentence, ???i mean if you contradict the sentence just because of the reason that reported speech should be active instead of passive one then you should come up yourself with your refuting anti-thesis instead of telling us without any reason that its wrong.....so i hope you will enlighten us .....for if i say "CSS forum is there to guide us for css", then i think that a person with even a literally linear type sense for english will be able to tell us that its a right sentence , but if anyone digresses the normal course by saying that its wrong then its the duty of the very person who contradicts, to come up with the logical falsifiaction test.... i think its enuff for the time being...and one more thing a coarse learner like me always follows the impulsive instinct of his mind instead of following the intricate rules of English grammar ,,,this wat i have been advised by my elders( my elder brother and his collegues in CBR, PSP and FSP....so thats all for now...wish you all the best....your brother naveed