Political Quotes

“I again congratulate Chairman Stevens and Senator Inouye on completing the first appropriations bill of the year. The record will show, I am sure, the time spent on this bill was one of the fastest, if not the fastest ever, that a Defense Appropriations Committee bill has been considered in the U.S. Senate. We have to understand that it was only on Tuesday morning of this week that the Subcommittee on Defense reported the bill, and the full committee reported it out that afternoon. Here we are on Thursday night having completed this very important, critical bill. I am sure this marathon would not have been possible without the excellent cooperation of many Senators and the terrific work of the Defense appropriations staff, under the leadership of Sid Ashworth for the majority and Charlie Houy for the minority. I am also particularly happy that conferees on this important bill have been appointed and that hopefully shortly after the recess that conference can also be completed in record time so critical funds can be made available to our service men and women around the globe, fighting and standing guard to protect our freedoms and securities. Also, I thank the chairman and Senator Inouye for including today critical funding for humanitarian assistance in the Sudan.”