Political Quotes

“Our Nation's unsustainable budget deficit is staring us in the face, but it is at critical moments like this when we must approach our Nation's greatest challenges with responsibility and prudence. Make no mistake that what's at stake here is grand in scope, and we could have grave consequences for our Nation's security, our infrastructure, and our economy. Just this morning, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called the Republicans' stopgap spending plan ``a crisis on our doorstep'' in terms of our national security, and these shortsighted budget cuts could lead to costlier and more tragic consequences later. The approach we take must focus on responsible cuts which will have a lasting impact on our deficit, not arbitrary short-term cuts to programs to win a few votes back home. We should be making decisions based on the best available science, not the worst possible politics. For example, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are focused on de-funding the Mexican Wolf Recovery program, instead of protecting the critically important jobs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. {time} 1550 The NNSA is responsible for the management and security of our Nation's nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation, and provides crucial funding for the work being done at our national labs. Our national labs, like Sandia National Lab in central New Mexico, have a tremendous impact on our local communities and our national defense.…”