Herb Kohl: “there is no excuse for the Congress to have delayed the fiscal 1996 budget this long. But thankfully, the high stakes…”

“there is no excuse for the Congress to have delayed the fiscal 1996 budget this long. But thankfully, the high stakes game of political chicken is finally over. After closing the Government on two occasions, passing 13 separate stop-gap funding bills, and waiting a full 7 months beyond the start of the budget year, Congress will finally pass the 1996 spending bill. This $160 billion measure funds the programs from five separate appropriations bills throughout the rest of this fiscal year. I will vote for the bill because it demonstrates that, when we work as a bipartisan majority, we can do what America has been asking us to do for a long time: cut the budget while protecting priorities like education, health care, and the environment. With this plan, overall Federal spending will be cut by $23 billion. However, $5 billion for health, education, environment, and job training programs has been restored under this measure.”