Political Quotes

“I thank Ranking Member Visclosky very much. Mr. Speaker, every year, our top responsibility as appropriators is to finish the 12 spending bills that keep our government running by October 1 of the year before that fiscal year is supposed to start. But here we are today, March 8, halfway into fiscal year 2017, finally voting on a compromise bill that closely reflects the request the last administration delivered to us 1 year ago February. Our service chiefs and Secretaries present a consistent, clear message to Congress. They have pleaded for stability and predictability in the budget so they could ensure complete readiness of America's forces. Force readiness remains the defense community's top priority. Funding the capabilities to provide this responsibility must remain our top priority. We must approach Congress' appropriations responsibility from the historic bipartisan process that has broken down once too many times in recent years. This political infighting harms the stability and predictability necessary for our Armed Forces to properly plan. It left both our adversaries and allies questioning our ability to defend or support the multiple conflicts we are currently engaged with abroad.…”