Political Quotes

“I think the Senator from Connecticut has asked a very good question. What are we doing here? Are we trying to spend TARP money? Well, apparently we are going to do that next. I thought we were stimulating the economy. The President said this is a spending bill. Well, all spending doesn't stimulate the economy: $400 million for sexually transmitted disease research and $75 million to get people to quit smoking--those things don't stimulate the economy in the near term. They may be very worthwhile. You have issues with TARP. I didn't think we were going to come over here and divide TARP. I am with you, Senator Dodd, I don't think you have enough money. What I want to do with my colleague from North Dakota is to let the body know we are spending a lot of money--more than any American can appreciate--on things that don't stimulate the economy. If you want to get our economy back on its feet, take some of the money we are going to waste in this bill and put it into a program that will save 1.5 million people from foreclosure. I think it is smart to do that now. I think it is smart to look at TARP and maybe grow the fund if it is necessary. That is the point. This bill has lost focus. For one person it is spending. For the other person it is rearranging TARP. For us it is trying to save housing. I don't think we know what we are doing.”