Political Quotes

“The bill we are debating, the so-called continuing resolution, spends slightly more than $1 trillion between now and the end of the fiscal year. As those who were either on the floor or watching a few moments ago discovered, the opportunity to amend this bill in even a minor fashion, although, in my view, an important fashion, was denied. So the Senate, in passing the CR, will spend more than $1 trillion, and we have had the opportunity to vote on two amendments, potentially three. That is the total extent to which 100 Senators representing millions of Americans have had the chance to influence the outcome, the content of a significant bill that spends lots of money. The amendment I have been trying to offer, in my view, is an important one. One of the things the administration announced following sequestration was that the control tower program, which provides about 179 air traffic control towers across the country, would be eliminated. That certainly is of importance to those who fly. It is important to people in our States, rural America. But this is not just a rural issue. These control towers are located in large cities across our country. I have been trying to fathom why the Department of Transportation would, in a sense, single out this program. It is hard for me to fathom a good answer to that question. As close as I can come is there are those in Washington, DC, who wish to demonstrate we can't cut a dime.…”