Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the amendment offered by the Senator from Indiana would mandate extreme, across the board cuts to Federal programs that the American people rely on. Under this amendment, Congress would need to callously slash $1.4 trillion in a vain effort to close the budget deficit through spending cuts in the 10th year of a budget resolution. Spread evenly across all Federal programs, this would result in a $350 billion cut to Medicare, a $180 billion cut to Medicaid, and an $82 billion cut to veterans' programs, in just 1 year. Nutrition programs that help families make ends meet by putting food on the table would be slashed by a quarter. Affordable housing, healthcare, education, name the Federal program that people in your communities rely on, and it will be cut by a quarter. The Senator's amendment would require a two-thirds vote to pass any budget resolution that does not balance the budget in the 10th year. The last two budget resolutions written by Senate Republicans would have violated this rule. Being responsible stewards of Americans' hard-earned tax dollars is a bipartisan priority, but this is not responsible stewardship. I urge a no vote. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does anybody yield back in opposition?”