Political Quotes

“I oppose this legislation. In Congress, we continue to talk past ourselves on how to get to fundamental financial sustainability. If flexibility is necessary for some agencies, then why not provide all of them with the necessary flexibility to deal with the draconian impacts of the sequester? I opposed the sequester from the beginning and still believe it's a terrible idea. Congress should have dealt with it comprehensively at the end of last year; we should have had a bigger solution then. Now that we are stuck with it, we have to deal with the consequences. Providing flexibility to some of the agencies but not others makes no sense--it merely allows the Defense Department to mitigate some of the worst effects on its budget, while continuing to hamstring vital domestic priorities. For instance, the $1.6 billion cut in the NIH budget will cut research into illnesses affecting millions of Americans, senior meal programs like Meals on Wheels will be cut by up to 4 million meals for needy seniors, and in my State, head start and early head start programs are being cancelled. In my home State of Oregon, we will lose approximately $10.2 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting about 140 teacher and aide jobs at risk. Our Head Start and Early Head Start services will be eliminated for approximately 600 children, reducing access to critical early education.…”