Political Quotes

“Across this country tonight, 600,000 Defense Department civilian employees are struggling with a 20 percent pay cut due to civilian furloughs, and these are scheduled to go through the end of September. These are hardworking American patriots who work hard to keep our Nation secure. They are supporting our warfighters. They are doing essential work. They are working side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with Active Duty personnel who, because of the language of the Budget Control Act, are exempt from any kind of furloughs. I approve of that, but it's sad that the civilians are singled out for this treatment. Mr. Chairman, I talked today to someone from the administration who came to a hearing for Armed Services. He said that the savings are estimated to be about $2 billion for the rest of the year. That may sound like a lot of money except when you look at the entire DOD budget of $500 billion. $2 billion is four-tenths of 1 percent--less than half a percent--of the total defense budget for this year. This is a savings that is a false economy. It is demoralizing, and it is hard on the families that are suffering this. We should adopt this amendment, which says that the Defense Department can find other savings but not take it out of the hides of the civilians who are supporting our warfighters. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I yield 1 minute to my colleague from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke).”