Ronald Dellums: “Mr. Chairman, let us start off remembering where we ended in August. We ended in August talking about balancing the…”

“Mr. Chairman, let us start off remembering where we ended in August. We ended in August talking about balancing the budget and we cut programs and wreaked havoc and extended pain to millions of American people in this country. We cut programs for the children in this country; our future. We cut programs that affected the farmers; the people who feed us in this country. We cut programs for the veterans, for the senior citizens, for urban, rural, and suburban America. So, we come back from the August break; now we are on the defense appropriations bill. The first amendment, B-2. And, suddenly, all these people who were willing to inflict pain on the American people cannot inflict pain upon the Pentagon. I hear the sizzle of pork and I will talk about it, but I will also talk about the substance, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. One of my colleagues said we should be talking about what is essential and I will argue that the B-2 is not essential, it is not needed, it is not affordable, and there are alternatives.”