Political Quotes

“Most of us here in this body and citizens across the country were offended with some of the arts that were funded by the NEA in years past. We had a fellow colleague, Paul Henry, who led the successful fight to stop much of that abuse of taxpayer money several years ago. I am delighted that the gentleman from Michigan has followed that same trail. Because we did not have an authorization, money could and was struck for the NEA. The Ehlers amendment is a step in the right direction for allowing the funding for the arts. No, the Ehlers amendment is not music to everyone's ears. It does not fund symphonies and a number of worthwhile organizations, museums that today are funded. I know that there are a number of things that we need to correct in the future with those things in mind. But today we need to adopt the Ehlers amendment and we need to let the Committee on Education and the Workforce reauthorize this very valuable program for the future. The bottom line here is that we would rather have something than nothing, and the Ehlers amendment is a good step in the right direction. I would urge my colleagues to support this measure.”