Political Quotes

“I want to commend Chairman Inouye for his leadership and efforts to accommodate the views and input of all senators in crafting the omnibus appropriations bill. He went a long way to meet the demands of the minority leader and other senators to include a $29 billion cut from the budget level requested by the President. Indeed, I was deeply disappointed that the proposed omnibus would have eliminated the Leveraging Educational Assistance Program, LEAP. For more than a decade, I worked with states, educators, and others to reauthorize and fund this program, which uses Federal resources to leverage additional state aid to help low income students attend college. As much as I was dissatisfied by this outcome, I was prepared to vote for this bill because it is far superior to the inefficiencies and consequences of a continuing resolution. I am disappointed that such a significant compromise was blocked by the other side of the aisle.”