Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Tennessee for the kind words about the deficit commission. It was a controversial vote. I think it was the right vote to deal with our deficit and the problems we face. I want to put what happened tonight into some perspective in light of the deficit commission. First, the Omnibus appropriations bill. The total amount being spent there was $1.108 trillion. The amount of that bill that was earmarked for specific projects was less than 1 percent of that--$8 billion out of $1.108 trillion. That is less than 1 percent. And that was within the total amount we were limited to spend. It wasn't as if we added it on. We were given a total amount, and less than 1 percent of it was earmarked as to where it was going, with complete transparency and disclosure. Again, it was $8 billion. It troubles me when I hear Members come to the floor, as some did a few minutes ago on the other side, saying we put an end to porkbarrel spending, and now we are dealing with our deficit. Well, $8 billion is a lot of money to anybody, but in the context of the debt we face as a nation and the need to address it, it is not significant. It is not significant in that context. I think about the fact that yesterday most of us voted--81 of us--for a tax bill, and included in that tax bill were tax cuts for people who were pretty well off in America; $20 billion a year in tax cuts for the richest estates in America to escape Federal taxation--$20 billion.…”