Political Quotes

“when we complete our work today on the FISA issue, we will be consumed by the issue of a continuing resolution and the need for continued appropriations to keep government functions available to the American people. I come with a suggestion that I think is based not on politics but upon commonsense and perhaps just the good business aspect of getting our work done. My suggestion to our colleagues is that we do not shut down government. I think the outcome of that is not good, and I can list the reasons. I have had constituents from time to time tell me ``shut her down. It wouldn't matter to me,'' but I can list the circumstances in which it really does matter to everyday folks in Kansas and across the country. At the same time, we should force ourselves to do work that we seemingly are unwilling or unable to complete. There is a whole list of things that are pending, and they have been pending for a long time. The Presiding Officer and I serve on the Appropriations Committee, and one of the positions that I think we share is the desire to see that the appropriations process works. That means that we would do a budget. The Budget Committee would do a budget, and the Senate and the House would approve the budget. We would do 12 appropriations bills that fill in the budget space. We would be able to prioritize spending. We could increase, reduce, or eliminate spending.…”