Political Quotes

“my compliments to Chairman Istook for the time and energy he and his staff have once again devoted to reviewing the D.C. budget and bringing this bill to the floor. Just a few years ago, the D.C. government faced a financial crisis of epic proportions. The situation was dire: the District could not deliver basic services, and there was very real concern that it would run out of cash to pay its debt service and meet its payroll. Today, the city's population is stabilizing, the real estate market is up, suburban residents are making more leisure trips into the city, and jobs have increased dramatically. Next year the Control Board will go into a dormant state, as anticipated in legislation we passed in 1995. The city has balanced its budget for a fourth straight year and its leaders are showing, with only a handful of exceptions, that they are focused on fostering economic growth and delivering basic services. With the guidance of this Congress, D.C.'s elected officials implemented tax cuts and backed the procurement and regulatory reforms that have spawned the renaissance at the Nation's Capital. As an editorial in The Washington Times said just a few weeks ago, the face of D.C. is, indeed, changing. This budget goes a long way toward continuing the tremendous strides made in the Nation's Capitol over the past six years. It funds a wide number of programs that will greatly enhance the quality of life for D.C.…”