Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding to me, and I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 2608, the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012. I oppose playing political games with FEMA disaster funding while American citizens are recovering from recent natural disasters that have wiped out homes, businesses, and lives. In an unprecedented move, the Republican majority requires an offset for FEMA funding. FEMA must be fully funded so that my constituents can continue recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Irene. By requiring this offset, we're playing politics with the lives of those who need our assistance most. Let me tell my Republican colleagues that if you want an offset, let's get rid of the Bush tax cuts for the rich. That's an offset that you won't want to get rid of. This bill presents a false choice: that we need to cut off one hand to save the other. The bill slashes funds from a program that would reinvigorate the manufacturing sector and decrease our reliance on foreign oil to fund FEMA. We can do both, and we need not buy in to this ridiculous logic. In times of disaster, we must always take care of our citizens and our country first, period. Try telling my constituents who are struggling in the aftermath of a hurricane, sorry, you'll have to wait till we find an offset. Sorry, we really don't care about your problems. We have other pressing things to do.…”