Political Quotes

“For too long we have seen unsustainable increases in spending. This bill before us today puts an end to that practice by making unprecedented cuts to the Federal budget. As chair of the State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I know the difficult tradeoffs that have to be made to achieve these levels of cuts, but we cannot continue to ignore our skyrocketing deficits and our debt. In the bill before us, we are taking our pledge to cut spending seriously. Since fiscal year 2008, the State, Foreign Operations budget has had dramatic increases. This bill begins to rein in the growth of many programs. The State, Foreign Operations title of the bill before us is $44.9 billion. This represents a 21 percent reduction from the President's fiscal year 2011 request, an 8 percent reduction from the fiscal year 2010 enacted level, and an 18 percent reduction from the fiscal year 2010 level with supplemental appropriations. Let me be clear. While these are dramatic cuts, I support the goals and objectives of using civilian power to achieve our national security goals. To achieve the level of savings included for the remainder of FY11, reductions were made in areas that, while difficult, preserve important efforts and priorities. For example, the bill before us supports top national security priorities, maintains momentum in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and fully funds the U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding at $3 billion.…”