Political Quotes

“they no doubt proclaim that the sponsors have offered a proposal to slash the fat from a bloated legislative branch bill. But before anyone takes these claims at face value, they should be aware of an uncomfortably inconsistent fact. The real news is we have already put the knives to whatever bloat existed in the institutions and agencies making up the legislative branch of Government. In fact, I would argue that we have already cut into the bone and the muscle, in many cases. Let me give you a few examples, Mr. President. The legislative branch today is funded at a level that is below total funding for fiscal year 1992 and nominal dollars, that is dollars not adjusted for inflation or other uncontrollable cost increases. We are one of the few appropriations bills that appropriated last year less in actual dollars than we appropriated the year before. Mr. President, we not only did it last year, we did it the year before when that kind of action was unheard of around here.”