Patrick Leahy

Recognizing the importance of supportive housing to prevent homelessness and the fact that it is at least half as expensive to preserve existing units as to create new ones, would HUD consider allowing in the next NOFA the possibility of…

As Senator Leahy said and I know, there are problems there.

Good. I must admit, and as Senator Bond knows, when somebody corners you in the grocery store and they have got a concern, they have got a concern.

They say, 'We can't get a straight answer.'

I am concerned about some who have slipped through the cracks.

But I still come back to my basic point. I worry about the way this is set up, that we are seeing a shift from rural to urban, and that is what I am going to be most concerned about.

Vermont and other rural States rely on these programs to build affordable housing for low-income, elderly, and disabled residents.

I worry about this because as I look at the budget, I am afraid there is a shift of priorities from rural areas, rural America to urban areas.

Not to keep using a tired, old analogy, but the proposal I received from the Department of Transportation and the budget blueprint has left me feeling a little bit like Bill Murray in 'Groundhog Day.'

It is a mistake for the administration to ignore the housing needs in our rural communities.

Our children and grandchildren are going to have to pay in the future for every extra dollar we borrow and spend, and that is not something I want to be able to tell them.

If the President is serious about promising fiscal restraint, he has to quit treating taxpayer dollars like Monopoly money.

We cannot afford to pass the buck on difficult challenges.

The American taxpayer deserves more, deserves better.

Congress' role ended when the check was signed.

I will keep the record open in case others want to ask questions.

I think every one of us has to be torn apart when we see crime by young people.

If you were to commit an armed robbery or something like that, you would go through the regular judicial system.

I wish that those who are as concerned about the national debt now... I do not blame it on law enforcement.

I fought hard for that funding, and the results are being felt.

The police can arrest more people than can be prosecuted. The prosecutors can convict more people than can be incarcerated.

We want to hear about innovative approaches that are working in police departments and criminal justice systems across the country.

I apologize that we had to change the schedule around because of Congressman Murtha's memorial service this morning.

If it was vandalism or something like that, you might go to the other.

I am going to turn the gavel over to Senator Whitehouse, and I will be back.