Political Quotes

“Mr. President, let me take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee for their hard work in presenting this bill, but I am going to cast a very strong ``no'' vote on this legislation. This morning I want to say a few words about why I am voting no, to talk about the number of amendments I have submitted to this bill, and to express my very serious concerns about our Nation's bloated military budget, particularly in light of the many unmet needs we face as a nation. Also, I must express a very serious objection to the fact that we are dealing with a $716 billion piece of legislation that is more than half of the discretionary budget, yet we will in all likelihood not have a process that allows for amendments to be debated--$716 billion, at a time when, in Louisiana, as I understand it, they are now going to be cutting food stamps for hungry children, when schools throughout this country don't have enough money for books or for teachers' salaries. We are talking about a $716 billion military budget and this process, as I understand it, will allow for no amendments, despite the fact that virtually every Member of the Senate has concerns about this bill. Over and over again I have heard my Republican colleagues and a number of Democratic colleagues come to the floor and talk about a very serious issue, and that is the $21 trillion national debt we are leaving our kids and our grandchildren.…”