Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Lowey for her great leadership. It is with, actually, great reluctance that I rise in support of today's short-term continuing resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so as well. While this continuing resolution will keep the lights on for the government of the United States, surely, this isn't the most responsible course of action we could follow. This extension of current funding means Federal agencies are effectively forced to operate on autopilot. They can't begin any new programs or respond to shifting priorities. To force our Nation's government to once again operate on a continuing resolution has been railed against by our Republican friends as particularly problematic for the Pentagon. And they are right. But it is the lack of action from our Senate Republican colleagues who deep-sixed their fiscal responsibility and their leadership that brought us here today. I commend Chairwoman Lowey's real leadership, and Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Hoyer for their prioritization and passage in the House of 10 of the 12 annual appropriation spending bills. But what has the Senate achieved? Very little. Despite Democratic warnings for months about the need for a bipartisan budget agreement, it took until July to settle on top-line numbers. Only this very month were our Senate colleagues willing to advance their first bills. Why you might ask? Because they are beholden to the White House.…”