Political Quotes

“This is the final amendment to the bill, and it will not delay or kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will proceed immediately to final passage as amended. Madam Speaker, the bill before us today, the Baseline Reform Act, would politicize what is otherwise a simple, straightforward method of accurately measuring changes and spending policies. It is misguided. Here is why. It mandates that the Congressional Budget Office assume current discretionary spending is frozen indefinitely in its baseline projections rather than adjusted for inflation. This change would undermine the usefulness of the CBO's baselines. It would make it more difficult to measure the real-world impact of changes in discretionary spending at both the program and budget function levels. Were this bill to be enacted into law and inflation remained at current projections, the CBO's baseline projections by the end of the budget window, or 10 years out, would purchase about one- fifth less than in the current year. My amendment would blunt the damage this bill could cause, and it would protect many of our hardworking and most vulnerable constituents. Specifically, my amendment would protect programs that help students and help families afford the skyrocketing costs of higher education. It would protect children with disabilities from being kicked out of the classroom.…”