Political Quotes

“Nothing really has been changed except the vehicle for delivery of assistance--that has been changed--and a reduction in total cost. We still observe this is not a CBO estimate of the cost. The earliest cost of the Harkin amendment was over $10 billion, but then CBO sends us an estimate and it is over $11 billion. So one thing for Senators to keep in mind is that the cost of this proposed amendment is still considerably higher than the Cochran amendment that has previously been agreed to by the Senate on a voice vote this afternoon. I hope Senators will continue to support the managers' effort to table this amendment and proceed to then consider the remaining amendments we have available to be disposed of in connection with this legislation. We think the underlying amendment fully addresses the need for action to deal with the problem of lost income and disaster assistance. It may not be perfect. There is no provision in the House bill on this subject.”