Jason Altmire

Last night the Senate did what great deliberative bodies are supposed to do--they worked together. They compromised. They accommodated other point of views, and they got the job done. Yes, it was a little bit late. It wasn't exactly timed…

I wasn't sure if the gentleman was planning to transition into another topic as he draws to a close.

We have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

We have no further speakers on our side. I yield back the balance of my time.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 127, line 5, after the dollar amount insert the following: ``(increased by $5,500,000)''. Page 128, line 11, after the…

Absolutely, I would agree. I had a chance to chat with them earlier today, and there is no group that should stand ahead of our Nation's veterans when it comes time to making Federal funding decisions, so I'm glad that they are joining us…

I urge my colleagues to oppose the motion. I yield back the balance of my time.

Social Security, Medicare, and veterans' benefit programs represent an agreement between citizens and the federal government.

Simply put, veterans and seniors are not the cause of our deficits, so we should not look to them to solve our current crisis.

Social Security, Medicare, and veterans benefit programs represent an ironclad agreement between citizens and the federal government, a promise that can never be broken.

The passage of last summer's Budget Control Act sent a strong, bipartisan message to the country that we are serious about reducing our deficit.

A $4 billion bridge project. And the American taxpayer is funding the Chinese to give the steel to California to rebuild this bridge. And the infrastructure improvements that are being made, certainly we'll see some benefit, but those are…

For every $1 billion we spend on wastewater infrastructure, we can create approximately 28,000 jobs in communities across America.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is something that shows that our side of the aisle is very concerned about this taxpayer money and that it not be wasted by examples as I just gave you.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following new section: use of american iron, steel, and…

I appreciate the gentleman from California. I come from a region of the country, western Pennsylvania, bordering my friend from Ohio, and I was listening to the debate, and I just wanted to talk about this same issue. This is the key to…

It has to be shared sacrifice. It has to be across the board, again, with the exception of the veterans and some of the programs I laid out.

There is an urgent need to address our nation's budget deficit and secure our long term fiscal stability.

It is imperative that the committee continues the tradition of excellence and innovation in research in the National Institutes of Health by agreeing to the President's request of the $32 billion budget for NIH.

I am concerned that the President's budget does not include funding for border fence construction.

I ask the committee to adopt the President's request for funding to support 21,370 Border Patrol agents and to hire additional 300 Customs and Border Protection officers.

No one should stand ahead of our Nation's veterans when it comes time to making funding decisions.

I urge the committee to prioritize the needs of veterans as you draft the fiscal 2012 budget.

We cannot balance our budget on the backs, in particular, of American's veterans.