Political Quotes

“the Constitution is very clear. It says the Government cannot spend a penny without an appropriations law--a law dealing with appropriations. I am so fortunate, when I came to the Senate, I became a member of the Appropriations Committee. I loved working on the Appropriations Committee. Under John Stennis from Mississippi, Robert Byrd from West Virginia, and Dan Inouye from Hawaii, it was a wonderful process. I have this job. I got off the committee, which was very hard for me to do because I loved that committee. We worked very hard every year to fund every one of those 12 appropriations bills. We did it because we were legislators. We compromised. We worked together to fund this government, but all of that is gone. Republicans do not work with us on appropriations bills. We don't do them anymore. This season of Republicanism is more than I can hardly understand. I certainly don't appreciate it. No job is more important in the Constitution than exercising the power of the purse. That is our responsibility, but that has been taken away from us by convoluted methods. I know my Republican colleagues will get up and say we have to do something about this terrible debt. Seated next to me in this august Chamber of the Senate is a man who is the senior Senator from Illinois. I have said this before, and I will say it again. The reason I mention his name is because I knew we needed to do something about the debt.…”