Political Quotes

“I first congratulate Chairman Allard for successfully crafting his first Legislative branch appropriations bill. It has been a pleasure working through this process with him and I thank him for his leadership. He has done an exceptional job. The Fiscal Year 2006 Legislative branch appropriations bill we are considering today is comprehensive, thorough, and fair. I want to thank Chairman Cochran for providing us with an allocation which has allowed us to adequately fund the agencies that support the Legislative branch, such as the Capitol Police, the Government Accountability Office, the Library of Congress, and the Architect of the Capitol. The bill we are presenting today provides funding to support the Capitol Police at the current staff level of 1,592 officers and 411 civilian staff, along with anticipated cost-of-living adjustments and estimated overtime requirements. The bill also provides funding for 14 new officers for the Capitol Visitor Center. I believe it is critical that we provide adequate funding to support the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us every day. Our bill does that. The House Legislative branch bill made some painfully deep cuts to some of our support agencies, particularly the Capitol Police, so we will have a real challenge to face during conference. This bill provides funding to the Architect of the Capitol to complete construction of the Capitol Visitor Center.…”