Political Quotes

“I wish a couple of my colleagues would take the time to read the report from the Congressional Budget Office that says that the budget that has passed this House increases the annual operating deficit for this Nation in 1996. It does not decrease it, it increases it. Even when they cook the numbers, it increases the annual operating deficit by $7 billion. You do not balance the budget by taking your first step backward. The second thing I would like to do is commend those wonderful men and women who work for our Nation's veterans hospitals, taking care of the people who came home from our wars in a situation much worse than they left, who are working for reduced pay. I want to tell them it is my deepest regret that they are not being fully compensated for what they have done. We have tried three times on the House floor on the Democratic side to bring a budget bill straight to the floor under an open rule that if people wanted to amend, they could, and three times now the Speaker of the House has ruled that would not happen. We will continue to work in your best interests.”