Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today to oppose the committee funding resolution as presented by the majority. As the gentleman from Kansas has pointed out, what is portrayed as a 5-percent cut really in fact is a 2-percent cut, and we can quibble over the amounts. But let us all be honest. There was $996,000 included in the baseline from select committees that had been eliminated before last year's resolution came to the floor. We have also included in the baseline some half-million dollars that was spent for the Joint Committee for the Reorganization of Congress, which went out of existence. So to include $1.5 million in the baseline that was never intended to be there this year anyway, I think, stretches the truth just a bit. So the fact is it is a 2-percent cut. It is a step in the right direction, but, oh, so modest of a step in the right direction. The second point that I would make is this committee resolution deals with 41 percent of the total committee finances. Total committee funding this year will be $129,927,000, in round numbers, $130 million. The $50 million requested is only 41 percent of those resources.”