Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I am opposed to this amendment. The way you balance budgets is to have a robust economy, where everybody is helping to pull the ship forward. That isn't the case right now. What we have dug out since 2008 was the largest recession since the Great Depression. America's chief strategic vulnerability throughout this period of time--for actually over a quarter century now--and our largest area of economic loss is energy. {time} 0110 It rests in energy. Since 2003, just since 2003, our country has spent $2.3 trillion importing foreign petroleum. That is just petroleum. That is not a country that is self-reliant. That is a country that deeply needs energy security here at home. The result of this amendment will be less investment in the sector most critical to helping us right this hole that we have dug for ourselves. Can you imagine if that $2.3 trillion had been spent in this country, the number of jobs we would have, the greater amount of income and revenue we would have flowing into people's pockets and also into the public sector where we have to pay the bills? In addition to moving us backwards on the energy front, this amendment will be less investment in water resources, and we have $62 billion worth of Army Corps projects alone that have sat on the shelf. We have no new starts in this bill. That is not a country on the grow. That is a country in retrenchment. So this amendment, it isn't a 50 percent cut. It is meant to send a signal.…”