Earl Blumenauer: “I appreciate Mr. Dicks' willingness to come forward, his interaction with my colleague even now, Mr. Walden. This is…”

“I appreciate Mr. Dicks' willingness to come forward, his interaction with my colleague even now, Mr. Walden. This is important business. It failed last Congress. It is not going to be achieved this Congress unless we are able to do it in a bipartisan fashion, unless we are able to look seriously at dealing with the funding. Wedging it in here, with all due respect, is ill-advised. Having an across-the-board cut for everybody on something where I know Mr. Obey has been working very hard to clear the decks so we can get busy on this year's budget and that we can start looking at the overall fiscal situation. I will continue my efforts to work with the gentleman, but I don't think we ought to confuse it today with the matter before us. I think it is appropriate to use as a vehicle to raise the issue. I appreciate his coming to the floor here today to talk about unmet needs. The issue before us is moving forward. For me, I hope this is the last time this CR action happens.”