On the recordDecember 21, 2010
You know, this is not, frankly, a very good time to be a Member of Congress. None of us are held in high esteem by the American public. I think it is an even more difficult time, quite frankly, to be a member of the Appropriations Committee because there are times when I think we're not held in much esteem by our own colleagues. I have heard so many things from some of our good friends on the authorizing committees that I think they forget the very simple fact that they always authorize more money than we spend on the Appropriations Committee and that we are usually left with the tough job of reconciling differences that have been unresolved on the authorizing committees. It is something that needs to be experienced by every Member of Congress before they appreciate the magnitude and the quality of the work that goes on on this particular committee.
