Political Quotes

“pending before the U.S. Senate today are two of the biggest appropriations bills we will consider this year. As Senator McConnell, the Republican leader, mentioned, they are the eighth and ninth bills we will pass. One of those bills I have had a direct interest in as the ranking Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. We are about to break a record. This spending bill for the Department of Defense is one of the largest increases we have seen in any given year. This bill is $607 billion for day-to-day operations of the Department of Defense and another $68 billion for something known as Overseas Contingency Operations, which is just another category of spending. This one bill-- one bill of the Department of Defense--comprises 49 percent of all of discretionary spending of the Government of the United States of America. Almost half of our discretionary budget is going to be spent in this bill. Accompanying it is the bill on health and education, which is the second largest appropriations bill we consider. So between the two of these bills, we are talking about a massive government expenditure. Let's reflect on that expenditure for a moment. There is no replacement for a strong national defense, but we should ask ourselves why. Why does it cost the American taxpayer so much to defend America? The last budget deal, under which we are working here, provided a near-record increase for the Department of Defense.…”