Roy Blunt: “I wish to talk about this amendment. I hope there is still a way I might be able to offer it. If I am not able to offer…”

“I wish to talk about this amendment. I hope there is still a way I might be able to offer it. If I am not able to offer it as an amendment to this bill, I intend to offer it as a bill to become part of the ongoing laws that govern these kinds of activities. I would also say--and I have said to many people--I have great expectations for the chairman of our committee, Chairman Mikulski. I understand she is trying to work out how to make the work of the Senate happen, and I think she is going to be vigilant and determined in leading us back toward the normal appropriations process. I am proud to be a member of her committee, and I do believe she and Senator Shelby, the ranking Republican, are going to be insisting the Senate get back to the way it should do business. I look forward to working with her to solve the problems we are solving this week and the problems we need to solve before October 1, when the new fiscal year begins. Let me say a few words about this moment we find ourselves in, and that there is no question that government spending is out of control. We have increased spending 19 percent since 2008. The Federal debt has skyrocketed to almost $17 trillion now. In 1981, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President, as part of his inaugural address we were approaching the first $1 trillion in debt in the history of the country.…”