Political Quotes

“this conference report contains agreements between the House and Senate on three appropriations bills. These bills support a wide range of important Federal Government activities. It also includes an extension of the continuing resolution that expires on Friday. The conference report is the product of negotiations that have taken place with the other body's conferees over the past several weeks. I commend the chairmen and ranking members of each of the subcommittees for the thoughtful manner in which they have undertaken their responsibilities. I also thank the staff members for their diligence and the many long hours they have spent in the performance of their duties and bringing us to this point. The practice of combining multiple appropriations bills into a single package is not ideal, nor should it be encouraged. I would prefer, and I know other Senators would as well, that we have the opportunity to consider, offer amendments, and vote on the bills individually. This summer, the months during which we normally debate appropriations bills, Congress and the President were wrangling over legislation to increase the debt ceiling and other matters. While the committee moved quickly to report bills in September, we are now more than a month into the new fiscal year and are only now approaching enactment of the first three appropriations bills.…”