Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that the goals of this legislation that the gentleman and his supporters have put before us are noble. The supporters have stressed it is to improve accuracy in how we account for loan programs. That's, indeed, a laudable goal. As stewards of the taxpayer dollars, we all believe it's our responsibility to keep a careful eye on every dollar spent. This includes using the most accurate accounting measures possible. Unfortunately, we have no assurances. Mr. Speaker, the intentions of this bill are laudable. The problem we have is there's no assurance that the piece of legislation we're doing today will encode that into law. Instead, what we have are half- finished ideas whose merit is disputed by nonpartisan budgeting experts and whose effects are still unknown. We've heard concerns today that enactment of this bill could result in us systematically overestimating the cost of Federal loan programs. This will not just be inaccurate accounting; it could cause significant harm to millions of Americans who depend on these loans. As a school teacher and a 24-year veteran of the National Guard, I know that the two groups that depend on these loans more than any other are students and our veterans. That's why I have this motion at the desk to amend the bill to ensure that, at the very least, as this experiment plays out, we hold harmless students and veterans. This amendment does not kill the bill, and it changes nothing in it.…”