David Obey: “Mr. Speaker, we have just been told by the majority party whip that he is holding back an ocean wave of spending. Well…”

“Mr. Speaker, we have just been told by the majority party whip that he is holding back an ocean wave of spending. Well, what is it that he is holding back? What is he using his hammer to hold back in his own caucus? He is using his hammer in order to prevent this House from voting on the education and health appropriations bill. He has his ideological views and he has assessed the votes in his own caucus and he has decided he does not even have the votes in his own caucus to squeeze down education as much as the President wants to do in his own budget. If The Hammer, as he is known on that side of the aisle, if the gentleman is so confident that he can prevail, then why do you not allow the committee to bring up the Labor-Health-Education bill? ... The reason you will not bring the Education bill to the floor is because you know you cannot win it.”