Political Quotes

“today the House will pass earthquake relief for California. Certainly, with the devastation they have had there, they are in need and deserve the help from Washington. But also today we are going to have a debate about whether Washington ought to pay for this disaster relief. Mr. Speaker, over the years, and especially since 1990, we have spent $13 billion beyond what was budgeted, and we merely added it to the debt, for disaster relief without paying for it. So we are going to have a debate today about whether Congress ought to pay for disaster relief, or whether we ought to continue to just add it to the debt. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to quit acting like Santa Claus, or passing the bill on to our children and grandchildren.”