Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I think if you take a look at the expenditures made by many Members of Congress in our offices, you would see that we responsibly use some of our funding to provide bonuses for the service of our own employees. That happens all across the Federal Government, just like it does across the private sector. It happens a lot less significantly understandably because public service is a noble profession, one that people choose to engage in; however, we want to make sure that we attract top talent to public service. Eliminating the ability for the entire VA to provide that kind of merit-based bonus is irresponsible, and it will make it less likely that we have the top-quality talent willing to make the sacrifice to come and serve our veterans at the VA. Why would we do that? That makes no sense. This was an error. It is being corrected. It is almost completely corrected. Unfortunately, the gentleman from Florida and the sponsor of this amendment are going way too far and hurting our ability to make sure that we can take care of our veterans with the top talent that they deserve. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube). The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes appeared to have it.”