David Obey: “90 days ago the President sent the Congress an emergency message asking that we appropriate supplemental funds to help…”

“90 days ago the President sent the Congress an emergency message asking that we appropriate supplemental funds to help flood victims and to help meet the costs of our activities in Bosnia. Last week, instead of responding to that request, the Congress in essence decided to load up that proposal with a series of unrelated riders. One related to roads on public lands, another related to census sampling, and a third created a change in budget rules which would allow Congress to pass appropriations which it prefers but bottle up the passage of the President's budget priorities. That is not the way to establish a bipartisan relationship with the other branch of government. The President vetoed that proposal. He told us ahead of time he would. And he has told the Congress to do it right. He said, in essence, do not try to gain political leverage by using the distress of innocent Americans. Now, I do not hesitate to speak out publicly when I think the President is wrong. I think people on this floor understand that. But the fact is the President is not wrong in this instance. He is absolutely correct. He recognizes that farmers need this money to get on with their planting. He recognizes that they need it to replace livestock that were killed in the floods. He recognizes that local communities need the community development money in order to plan for their communities' futures.”