On the recordFebruary 18, 2011
This has been a great week for fiscal conservatives. Under Chairman Rogers and the Appropriations Committee and the entire Republican Conference, we have actually enacted or are on the verge of enacting historic cuts and passing them through this body. We have let others come and participate with their ideas and suggestions. My concern is not the amount of money involved in the amendment; it's the method adopted to achieve the savings. Across-the-board cuts essentially mean you lose the ability to eliminate, to root out and to prioritize. In fact, you adopt the priorities of the people that wrote the original budget. And with all due respect to my friends on this side, that means we are adopting our friends' on this side's priorities when we cut in this manner. So I think we should embrace the spirit behind this amendment--it's well motivated--but reject the method, and go back to the thoughtful, targeted and tough kinds of decisions that Chairman Rogers, the Appropriations Committee and our entire conference and every Member has had the opportunity to participate in.
