Political Quotes

“I particularly want to thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their wonderful cooperation in putting together this en bloc set of amendments. Mr. Chairman, I want to just highlight several with which I am associated. Amendment 93, cosponsored by Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Welch, and Mrs. Capps, will reduce fuel convoy deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Chairman, we have lost 3,000 lives trying to protect fuel convoys in those two countries. So we can actually save money and save lives with this amendment. Amendment 91, cosponsored by Mr. Platts of Pennsylvania, improves the Federal Acquisition Institute. This is legislation also introduced by our Republican friend in the U.S. Senate, Susan Collins, and it has bipartisan support, makes the Federal Government a lot more efficient and will not build new bureaucracy or add expenses. Amendment 92, cosponsored by Mr. Bilbray of California, will actually try to systemize and make more effective the internship programs in the Federal Government so that we are taking advantage of those opportunities and making sure they also serve a better purpose for interns who sign up with the Federal Government. Amendment No. 90, cosponsored by Mr. Kissell, directs the Pentagon to report to Congress on the estimated cost of expanding the Homeowners Assistance Program. A lot of our active duty military, when they are called up or transferred, find themselves in enormous distress given the housing crisis.…”