John Yarmuth: “I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule, primarily because…”

“I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule, primarily because of the gimmickry and the coldheartedness of the conference budget. It is not just myself who has understood the tricks and gimmicks that were used to formulate this so-called balanced budget, which doesn't, of course, balance. It is kind of like if I had gone out and said I am going to spend $2,000 on a cheap racehorse. This is the weekend of the Kentucky Derby. I am going to go out and buy a cheap racehorse, and I am going to enter it in the Kentucky Derby. The horse is going to win the Kentucky Derby, and then I take that prize money from the Kentucky Derby--I might even be so bold as to predict it is going to win the Triple Crown, and I take all that money and put it in my budget as if I had actually done it. That is the way this budget was constructed. But, again, it is not just me. Virtually everyone who has looked at this budget--detached, impartial observers--says this is not legitimate budgeting.…”