Political Quotes

“as we are all aware, we have spent a great deal these past few years to secure our Nation in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. On 9/11, our priorities shifted because they had to, but we in Congress failed to make up for our enormous new fiscal responsibilities by reining in the growth in other parts of the budget. Over the last decade, we have increased our discretionary domestic spending programs almost across the board at double, triple, or even quadruple the rate of inflation. Even without 9/11, these rates were unsustainable. Look at this chart. Overall discretionary spending growth since 1994, not including emergency spending, a very steep line. On average, we have increased discretionary spending by just over 6 percent per year for a decade. Let us look at two areas of specific discretionary spending. Education: in the past 5 years, the Republican Congress has increased education funding by an average of 9.1 percent per year. Over this same period, spending for the Department of Education has increased almost 60 percent. In fact, aside from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education has grown faster than any other agency during this period. Despite the rhetoric about irreparable harm to children, the Education Department is well funded. Veterans: since 1995, when the Republicans took control of the Congress, total spending on veterans has increased from $38 billion to almost $68 billion.…”