Political Quotes

“I wish to make a couple points on the Coburn amendment, and then I will raise a point of order. The current bill, S. 2244, is budget neutral, as the past TRIA bills have been. On the other hand, CBO has said Senator Coburn's amendment is not fully paid for, violating the Senate's PAYGO rule. Basically, the amendment--even though I know the sponsor does not intend it that way--is a killer amendment. CBO has said the amendment would cause S. 2244 to increase the Federal deficit in both the 5-year and 10-year budget windows. Senator Coburn offered this amendment in committee. It was roundly defeated by a bipartisan vote of 16 to 6 against it. I appreciate Senator Coburn's effort to provide more flexibility to the timeframe for recoupment by the government in case of a terrorist attack, but in fact the banking committee, led by Senator Johnson, and my office have worked with CBO for a number of months to determine whether there could be more flexibility in the recoupment process. Unfortunately, CBO has yet to identify a way to provide more flexibility in the recoupment period while still ensuring the program remains budget neutral as it is now. It is also important to note that if recoupment by the government poses any unforeseen challenge after a future attack, nothing would stop the Treasury Secretary from asking the Congress then to provide that flexibility.…”