Political Quotes

“I appreciate the intent of the gentleman from Indiana's amendment. I think it is very well intended. I think he makes some valid points in his argument. However, I am going to have to reluctantly oppose the amendment. The bill that we have before us tonight strikes the right balance between funding priority programs that are essential to our Nation's security and keeping discretionary spending in check. The bill cuts nearly $3 billion, or 7 percent, from the request. That does not take into account the internal cuts taken to address the $650 million shortfall for aviation security and customs due to the phony fee offset used by the administration. It also does not reflect the significant increase provided to ensure robust funding for disaster relief. The committee has cut underperforming and ill-managed programs. We've made difficult choices on priorities for the bill. Significant cuts in this bill include $215 million from headquarters consolidation, then an additional $69 million from the Department of Management Operations, an additional $81 million from the Transportation Security Support, an additional $629 million from Science and Technology Research Development, and more than $2 billion from FEMA's First Responder Grants. Deeper cuts will serve no other purpose than endangering critical security operations from our frontline agencies, such as the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, FEMA, and TSA, that conduct daily operations to make our land secure.…”