Political Quotes

“a little over a year ago the Congress, unfortunately, voted to send $12 billion to the States of the former Soviet Union through the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. We had already sent and are still sending billions more through other programs, departments, and agencies. I have opposed this aid because we are well over $4 trillion in debt and still losing hundreds of millions more each and every day. But even those who support this aid should be upset about two articles which appeared last week in the Wall Street Journal. The headline last Thursday said: ``U.S. Aid is Quite a Windfall for U.S. Consultants.'' The stories told of consultants reaping millions, with typical consultants receiving $800 a day figuring in all costs. Some consultants are receiving as much as 90 percent of certain aid contracts. The article said that there is ``dancing in the streets'' by consultants, but hardly any of the money is getting through to the average Russian. The stories reported of ``criticism because of waste and meager results,'' and quoted one expert as saying that ``the aid benefits Russians minimally, if at all,'' and that he expects ``a scandal down the road that is going to upset the taxpayers.'' The Federal Government today really helps almost no one other than the bureaucrats who work for it and well-connected Government contractors. Mr. Speaker, this Russian aid should end.”