John Spratt: “I looked the numbers up, and that is why I have got them available, but let me show you how the reconciliation process…”

“I looked the numbers up, and that is why I have got them available, but let me show you how the reconciliation process works so that the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) can pick up from there. Originally, when the Republicans decided in their budget resolution that they would cut $35 billion to facilitate $70 billion in tax cuts, it had nothing to do with Katrina. It was just one way of diminishing the impact of the tax cuts on the bottom line. Originally, when that $35 billion number was set as the reconciliation target, the amount that was reconciled to the Committee on Education and the Workforce was $12.6 billion. That committee labored diligently. I do not think the gentleman voted for the final product, but it was still $10.6 billion, $2 billion less than what was reconciled. Now, all of the sudden comes a claim for an additional $5.5 billion. Where in the world will the $5.5 billion come from within the jurisdiction of your committee?”