Gilbert Gutknecht: “We do cherish our children's future, and we all breathe the same air and we all want a clean environment, but we want…”

“We do cherish our children's future, and we all breathe the same air and we all want a clean environment, but we want results. We do not want 70 percent of the Superfund cleanup money being spent on lawyers and consultants, we want results. That is what this Congress is really all about. I think particularly those of us in the freshman class came here to change the way Washington does business. We want to talk a little bit tonight, too, about the budget. We are being joined by the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Lindsey Graham, and perhaps the gentleman from Connecticut, Mr. Chris Shays, is going to join us as well. I am not sure. We want to talk a little about some of the budget numbers, where we have come from, what it is going to take, the kind of discipline. Again, I restate, if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got. Unfortunately, where we are today is at least some of the people in this Capital City want to continue to do what we have always done. That is, 'Well, we will continue to spend normally; but manana, or next year, or 5 years down the road, then we are going to start to really get serious.' As somebody said the other day, it is a little like saying you are going to lose 20 pounds by the end of the month, but you are going to gain 5 pounds during the first 2 weeks, and you really will not get started on it until the last 3 days. That is sort of the way Washington sort of looks at balancing the budget.”