Political Quotes

“Thank you, Madam Chairman. My amendment would reduce funding for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery program to the President's FY13 request of $50 million. I love salmon. I love to eat them. I love to fish for them. I'm a conservationist, and conservation issues are what started my political activism. But we also are in an economic crisis as a Nation. Let's be clear, this program is basically an earmark, and we should be eliminating it altogether. But that's not what my amendment does. I'm simply asking that we revert to funding levels back to those requested by the President. If $50 million in funding is good enough for the administration, that's exactly the amount of taxpayer money that this program should receive--and not a cent more. Given our current economic emergency, everyone needs to pull their weight when it comes to cutting spending. Congress has had to slash its own budget. Agencies across the Federal Government are tightening their belts left and right, and our Nation's families are reining in spending to deal with our failing and flailing economy. Yet the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery is requesting $65 million in their funding--a $15 million increase in their budget from what the President himself has recommended for this year. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment to simply save American taxpayers $15 million by maintaining the status quo for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery funding. I yield back the balance of my time.”