Steve Womack: “How serious are you about looking at the mandatory side of spending, the two-thirds of spending that is on autopilot…”

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the last speaker, my friend, Earl Blumenauer. It was a source of pride for me to be here on the floor this morning and see the gentleman's last speech on the floor of the House of Representatives…

I am going to take that 30 seconds and brag on this guy right here, Tom Cole. He has reengineered, somewhat reinvented a lost appropriations process, and I am eternally grateful. I know I speak for the American people in thanking Mr. Cole…

I think a lot of us up here would agree that the federal bureaucracy has become bloated, but I think we need to be a little bit more precise in downsizing a department with a mission as critical.

By the way, I have got to leave here in a minute and go meet with the city of Fort Smith board of directors.