Tom Latham: “I would hope that since we've done very well in accepting these amendments this would be one that the chairman would…”

“I would hope that since we've done very well in accepting these amendments this would be one that the chairman would accept also. I know how supportive he is of this. But I really would hope that we could find some consensus and common ground on cutting spending in this House. My amendment would reduce or eliminate funding for programs-- President Obama, again, this is what President Obama has said and has signaled--that have adequate funding, or there is funding in this bill that's duplicative of other Federal programs. And again, we are just going to what the President asked for, or cutting programs that were not requested, and certainly are not even authorized. This amendment would save the taxpayer $1.8 billion, without going under the President's budget on any of the accounts targeted for the reduction. The reduction of $1.8 billion would make this bill simply just 3.4 percent lower than the fiscal year 2010 level. And you remember that bill was 23 percent higher than the year before that. And it would send an important message, I think, to the American people that Congress can take care of the Nation's housing and transportation needs without further jeopardizing our Nation's fiscal health. I would hope that my colleagues would join me in cutting this mere three cents on the dollar out of this bill, with an attempt to put this bill back on the path towards fiscal responsibility. I reserve the balance of my time.”