Political Quotes

“I rise in opposition to S. 2551, legislation making supplemental appropriations for further recovery from and response to terrorist attacks on the United States for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes. On March 21, the President submitted to Congress a $27.1 billion request for emergency funding to continue to fight the war on terrorism and respond to the September 11 attacks on our country. It was a prudent request and one that should have been quickly acted upon. The legislation passed on May 24 by the House of Representatives closely tracked the President's request. Unfortunately, the majority in the Senate has chosen a much different course of action and constructed a wasteful amalgamation of pork. The President asked for emergency funding for critical resources to support the war on terrorism and secure the homeland as we recover and rebuild. Yet the product before the Senate includes scores of unneeded items that cost billions of dollars--all classified as an 'emergency.' The numbers speak for themselves. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out a bill that spends $3.8 billion more than requested by the President, for a total of over $31 billion. More significantly, by reshuffling priorities, the committee failed to fund $10.4 billion in emergency spending items that the President had requested, and instead decided to fund $14.6 billion in spending items not included in the President's request.”