Political Quotes

“My response to that, Mr. President, first, the Senator from Washington knows the fact is that the Agriculture Committee was given a reconciliation instruction, and by removing this part from that portion of the bill we will have to come up with money elsewhere. It is not like Medicaid is part of that instruction. It is not. It is a separate instruction, a separate area, an area that is gone for now. We are deeming with this portion of the bill. We cannot just say we cut something somewhere else, and, therefore, we should not worry about it here. It is apples and oranges. We do have to come up with the money somewhere else. I think this is a reasonable place to come up with it. The rate of $1.93 was increased in the committee by Senator Leahy. He sought to increase it more himself, but he recognized that to do that he would have had to find savings somewhere else. It was his judgment--obviously, by his amendment--that this was an area that could afford a reduction more than other areas of the agriculture budget. And so I think, going from the attempt that he made in committee, that this was probably the best place to find the reduction at the time. So I ask, again, that Members oppose the amendment.”