Political Quotes

“I appreciate the comments I have heard about we can surely find 2 pennies of waste, and reduce this bill by 1.9 percent across-the-board. But I would point out that when I offered those amendments, it was in years when we were increasing appropriations by 3 percent, 5 percent, as much as 7, 8, or 10 percent. We have cut this bill by 12 percent in the last 2 years. Let me repeat that: We've made a 12-percent reduction. Does anybody think that by cutting 1.9 percent we are going to solve that problem? No, we have got to go in and change the law, the Federal employment laws. We have got to make it possible for managers to fire people, to get rid of people that are deadwood, to do what managers are supposed to do. This is not the answer. We have made cuts. Twelve percent we have reduced this bill, $500 million this year alone.”