Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I want to begin by saying how much I, frankly, appreciate the gentleman's amendment. Many programs in this bill, frankly, were eliminated or substantially reduced to stay within the allocation, which, as I know my good friend knows, was $5 billion below the FY 2017 enacted level. Some other programs, including job training programs for youth, were reduced by relatively modest amounts, again, to stay within the allocation. The total amount in the bill for youth job training grants is $832 million, a reduction over last year of just 4.5 percent. While I support the job training grants and programs in question, I oppose the amendment out of concern that the offset to the Department of Labor's administration account will be too hard to absorb, including the administrative reductions already included in the bill. I will commit to my friend that we will try to work with him through the process and see if there is some way that we can get these funds restored going forward. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.”