Jeb Hensarling: “I have heard hours and hours of testimony from Democrats about funding Federal programs. They claim that if we do not…”

“I have heard hours and hours of testimony from Democrats about funding Federal programs. They claim that if we do not vote for an increase in the budget of welfare, then we do not care about the needy; if we do not vote for an increase of the budget of the National Institutes of Health, we do not care about cancer patients; if we do not favor major increases for the Department of Education, we must not care about our children learning their A, B, C's. In other words, in their world, support can only be measured by money. I have heard this line of reasoning over and over again in countless speeches by my Democrat colleagues, but when it comes to protecting the American homeland, all of the sudden the Democrats throw that reasoning out the window because now, Mr. Speaker, we are being told by the leader of the Democrats that they support our troops, they just do not support funding them. Which is it? If they support our troops but they do not want to fund them, what are we to do? Are we to pass around collection boxes at sporting good stores asking for donations of ammunition for our troops? Are we to start food drives at churches and synagogues and mosques in order to feed our soldiers who are in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are we to shop at Goodwill for the uniforms that they need? I think not.”