Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts, the distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and, Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today's debate is on a rule providing for consideration of H.R. 7617, which contains 6 of the 12 annual appropriations bills recently reported by the House Appropriations Committee. These six bills include the two largest, Defense, and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, as well as the titles covering Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, and finally, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, it is always encouraging to see the appropriations process moving forward. Passing these 12 bills is one of the biggest responsibilities we have as Members of Congress; to fund the government and keep it open and operating for our constituents. Despite that great responsibility, I am disappointed by the partisan approach taken by the majority in crafting the bills in this package, and I cannot support them at this time. I single out the majority in my comments because the 12 bills that were reported out of committee this year were all written to satisfy the concerns and wishes of one party, the Democratic party. While that is often how the appropriations process begins, it is ultimately never where it ends.…”