David Obey: “I would simply like to point out that despite all of the rhetoric that we have heard on this floor today, there are…”

“I would simply like to point out that despite all of the rhetoric that we have heard on this floor today, there are three appropriations bills which have still not even made it to the President, the first being the District of Columbia bill which we are discussing right now; the second being the Foreign Operations bill which is hung up because of differences between Republicans in the Senate and Republicans in the House on the issue of family planning and abortion; and third, the Labor, Health, Education and Social Services appropriations bill, a huge share of the Federal Government. All of those programs at this point are in limbo because we still have not had resolutions worked out between the House and the Senate. So it seems to me that there is a high degree of congressional culpability for the fact that this Government is not operating under regular appropriations bills; and it also seems to me that it comes with considerable ill grace to blame the President for the fact that he has not even been able to consider whether to veto bills, because three of them have not gotten to him yet.”