Political Quotes

“I have been on the Appropriations Committee for 17 years. Eleven of them were under Republican control, eight under a Republican President. And I'm proud of the investments that we've made in this country during those 17 years. We were stronger, more secure, a more productive economy as a result of those investments. {time} 1430 We've improved the lives of Americans. We've cleaned up our water. We've invested in transportation, our national defense, our education system. That's why we have the strongest economy and why, in fact, we continue to be the very best place on the planet to live, to work, and to provide a better future for our children. What we are doing in this continuing resolution is targeting those programs that are called ``domestic discretionary.'' They represent about 4\1/2\ percent of the entire budget, and they have stayed pretty well even. During the Reagan administration, during the Clinton administration, during the Bush administration, which was when we had the lowest job growth ever, they were at about 7\1/2\ percent. The fact is we are not going to balance our budget by targeting that small amount of the budget. The reality is that, when President Reagan left office, tax receipts were about 18.2 percent. They went up a bit during the Clinton administration when we had the greatest expansion ever and when, in fact, people at the highest rate of income tax pocketed more money after taxes than at any time in American history.…”