Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the Senate is about to vote on a continuing resolution to fund the Federal Government from October 1 to December 11. This vote should not be necessary. There is no good reason why we are not voting on fiscal year 2015 appropriations bills to fund the government the way we used to rather than a continuing resolution that keeps the government on autopilot despite many new and compelling needs. Chairwoman Mikulski of the Appropriations Committee and her counterpart in the House, Chairman Rogers, have made this argument as well as any two people could. It is unacceptable that the Congress, which has the power of the purse, fails to use that power in a responsible manner. Passing annual appropriations bills should be a priority for both parties, and I hope that between now and when this short-term CR expires, we can do our job and finish work on those bills which were reported by the Appropriations Committee months ago--and send them to the President. Nine months ago, when the fiscal year 2014 omnibus was enacted, no one anticipated the Ebola epidemic which has infected thousands of people and today threatens all of Africa, thus, there is little funding available to combat it. The Defense Department, USAID, CDC, and others are scrambling to reprogram funds from other important programs.…”