Chris Dodd: “Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, here we go again, pushing through a bloated appropriations bill chocked full of earmarks and…”

“Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, here we go again, pushing through a bloated appropriations bill chocked full of earmarks and far exceeding the President's budget request. This is the seventh annual appropriations measure that has been considered by the Senate and it is by far the biggest budget buster of those considered. The first six bills exceeded the President's request by over $8 billion, while this bill alone exceeds the President's budget request by almost $9 billion. At what point will Congress come to grips with the fact that we are mortgaging our children's and our grandchildren's futures by approving bills like this? The Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008 provides over $605 billion, including $149.2 billion in total discretionary spending and, as I mentioned, exceeds the President's budget by $8.95 billion. The Statement of Administration Policy begins with the following; The Administration strongly opposes S. 1710 because, in combination with the other FY 2008 appropriations bills, it includes an irresponsible and excessive level of spending and includes other objectionable provisions.”