Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss H.R. 1315, legislation which requires the President's budget to include an estimate of the size of the deficit on a per-taxpayer basis. I don't oppose this legislation-- indeed, I voted for a previous version of it in the last Congress--but I am having a hard time understanding what, if anything, it will accomplish. Requiring the President's budget to include a basic calculation will do nothing to produce better policies or outcomes that the American people are demanding. And when I say ``a basic calculation,'' I am talking about a calculation that my 7-year-old nephew, Lucas, could do probably without his smartphone. But I will vote ``yes'' because I don't think this bill will do any harm. I do think it says something about the majority's priorities that this bill is even being considered. We are facing a series of enormous and serious budget issues, yet the majority is devoting floor time to legislation that is essentially meaningless. Our government is now operating with funding under a continuing resolution that will expire on December 11, and we have failed to address the pending, across-the-board cuts known as sequestration that will drastically reduce funding for education, infrastructure, job training, and nutrition programs for children and the elderly. Those programs aren't meaningless. Millions of Americans depend on them.…”