Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I come to the floor, along with my colleagues, Senators McCain and Ayotte, to talk about the significant uncertainty surrounding sequestration and its threat to our national security. The triggered reduction in spending is $1.2 trillion. After accounting for 18 percent in debt service savings, the required reductions amount to $984 billion to be distributed evenly over a 9- year period or $109.3 billion per year. So what we are talking about is $54.7 billion in reductions will be necessary in both the defense and nondefense categories, despite the fact--despite the fact--defense funding constitutes just 20 percent of the budget. As my colleagues Senators McCain and Ayotte are well aware, this sequester disproportionately impacts defense spending, putting our national security at risk. It has been almost a full year since the Budget Control Act was passed, and Congress needs a precise understanding from this administration as to the full effects of sequestration on national security funding. Both Senator McCain and I, along with Senators Sessions, Ayotte, and others, have called on the administration to detail the impact of sequestration on defense accounts. This information is necessary for Congress to address the deep and unbalanced defense budget cuts that are expected under sequestration-- which are in addition, I might add, to the $487 billion in reductions that were carried out last August.…”