Political Quotes

“I come to the floor as the ranking member of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. In that capacity, I rise to oppose consideration of the fiscal year 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill. Let me be clear, I do this reluctantly. In my view, this is a very good bill. Senator Alexander and I have put forth a well-balanced bill within the allocation levels we were provided, which was a good level. It has been a great pleasure for me over the years to work with Senator Alexander. I have the utmost respect for him. We have always worked things out, but this year I think we have a bigger issue, and I wish to address that in my remarks. First, 6 of the 12 appropriations subcommittees received base allocations lower than last year. Another four subcommittees received nominal increases but were still forced to make cuts due to rising costs beyond their control. That leaves only two subcommittees--Energy and Water Development and Homeland Security--that received real funding increases. That is why I believe considering the Energy and Water bill in isolation as we are now, rather than debating larger funding issues, is misleading. That is why I can't support the motion to proceed to the bill. We all know the vote today is not just about Energy and Water. It is about the entire appropriations process, and that is the debate we should be having.…”