Political Quotes

“This appropriations measure fails at every level to meet our Nation's transportation infrastructure needs, support our States' housing initiatives, or further our community development goals. I would like to take a moment to highlight a few of the most egregious cuts in the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill before us today because it's important for my constituents in Rhode Island to hear exactly what's being proposed here today. We all recognize clearly that some cuts in Federal spending are unavoidable. In certain cases, they're even desirable in the current budgetary environment. But this bill goes far beyond what's reasonable by reneging on the spirit of the agreed-to spending levels in the Budget Control Act. The cuts in this bill to the Community Development Block Grant program, the HOME grant, and transportation investments endanger the well-being of America's cities and towns, as well as our residents. Expanding economic opportunities and creating jobs continue to be my top priorities in Congress. It's exactly what this Nation needs right now. It's certainly what we need in Rhode Island, given the fact we have the fourth highest unemployment rate in the Nation. Regrettably, this bill achieves neither of these goals. The Congressional Budget Office estimated just last week the sequestration would result in 1.6 million fewer American jobs by the end of September 2014.…”