Political Quotes

“I will be brief and speak briefly in my capacity as vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. There are things here that could be exciting to talk about, and some things are kind of dry, but when we talk about the budget, the consequences affect every single one of us, in every single State, and for multiple generations. The consequences of the Budget Control Act sequestration cuts since 2011 have been devastating and are going to last for generations. Its impact on military readiness led Defense Secretary Mattis to say that no enemy on the field has done more harm to our military than what we have done to ourselves through sequestration. By not investing in our domestic priorities, we allowed our infrastructure to crumble, care to our veterans to be delayed, and investments in education to fall behind. The bipartisan budget deal announced yesterday by Senator McConnell and Senator Schumer is the first step toward providing much-needed relief from sequestration and stability in the appropriations process. I have followed very carefully what they have been doing. My staff, especially on the Appropriations Committee, has been very much involved. Defense caps have been increased by $80 billion in fiscal year 2018 and $85 billion in fiscal year 2019. Nondefense caps are increased by $63 billion above the caps in fiscal year 2018 and $68 billion above the caps in fiscal year 2019. Those are the numbers.…”