Burgess Owens: “In the process of revamping the budget, do they realize that--they realize above all that money comes into Washington…”

“In the process of revamping the budget, do they realize that--they realize above all that money comes into Washington and then flows out. Why does Louisiana, why does Louisiana get so much more money from the Federal Government than it pays into the Federal Government? The gentleman who heads the Committee on Appropriations is from the State of Louisiana, and Louisiana gets $6.4 billion more from the Federal Government than it pays into the Federal Government. You can downgrade Washington and talk about Washington spending money, but Washington does not spend money in Washington. The Federal Government is merely a transit, an exchange. They pull in the money and they appropriate it out as it is needed for various functions, and it flows into the States across the union. There have been studies done that I have quoted here on this floor on several occasions about how much each State pays into the Federal Government and how much each State gets back. Among the high roller States, the States that get more back from the Federal Government than they pay into the Federal Government, is Louisiana. Louisiana gets $6.4 billion more from the Federal Government.”