Jerry Lewis: “I did not intend to speak during this discussion on the bill that is before us, but the comments made by the last…”

“I did not intend to speak during this discussion on the bill that is before us, but the comments made by the last speaker are of concern to me as well, for in those comments he presumed in the next bill there may be some across-the-board cut that could affect the bill we have recently had the President sign, the bill funding national defense. Indeed, it is conceivable that if the House does adopt and there is signed into law an across-the-board provision that affects all accounts, that defense could be affected, and that does concern me a lot. But I must tell you, Mr. Speaker, it concerns me most because of the condition we find our national services in today. There is little doubt that the bill the President signed is a breath of fresh air in terms of returning to recognizing the priority needed for national defense. But indeed the reason we need to be concerned is because of the actions of past Congresses. Since I have been in the Congress, we have reduced our annual expenditures for national expense in amounts of almost $150 billion.”