Political Quotes

“I want to begin by thanking my friend for the amendment, quite frankly. And while I understand and share many of the gentleman's concerns, most of the accounts that this amendment reduces have already been reduced in the bill. The allocations we are working on required us to find efficiencies and savings wherever possible. I believe that cutting the administrative accounts in this amendment by another 10 percent would unnecessarily increase the risk of significant disruption of services, and oversight responsibility the agencies in this bill are charged with. While I oppose the amendment for these reasons, I want to pledge to my friend that I will continue to work with him and others to identify specific areas where additional efficiencies and savings can be realized. And I know my friend also feels strongly about entitlement reform, where the real money is, and I look forward to working with him on that as well. But in the meantime, Mr. Chairman, I must urge the rejection of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”