Todd Rokita: “I thank the chairman. I thank him for his leadership, not only on this issue, but on so many of the bills and issues…”

“I thank the chairman. I thank him for his leadership, not only on this issue, but on so many of the bills and issues that come before this Congress; and I also thank the leadership on the other side of the Budget Committee and the other side of this Congress for their leadership in coming together as well. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bipartisan budget legislation. As you know, Mr. Speaker, I am one of the folks around here who is considered by some maybe affectionately, by others not so affectionately, as a budget hawk. I came to reduce our spending and get as much value for every dollar we take from the taxpayer, and more increasingly from the children of tomorrow, from those who don't exist who we are taxing by running up our debt. {time} 1715 I watch these issues closely. I am actively, in my opinion, engaged in them. And I want to say on this House floor that this budget is a better deal than the current sequestration law because it makes spending reforms beyond sequestration that will continue on after sequestration expires. The reforms and, therefore, the budget savings start immediately and compound over time. By the way, Mr. Speaker, I am not talking about trading real sequester savings for magic beans. These are reforms that will start once this bill passes and once the President signs it. Again, it will compound over time. Finally, Mr.…”