Sean Duffy: “First, I want to commend the work of both Mr. Cole and Ms. Wasserman Schultz in producing a spending bill that doesn't…”

“First, I want to commend the work of both Mr. Cole and Ms. Wasserman Schultz in producing a spending bill that doesn't actually increase spending. It doesn't actually reduce it, but it actually maintains it; and for this institution, I think that is a positive, and I commend you both for doing that. I think it is important, when we talk a lot about our debt at $17 trillion--we have deficits at $1.5 trillion today, down to a little over $600 billion, I think it is important that this institution lead by example and look to places that we can cut, places that we can be more efficient, when we look at spending on operations here in the House. When we do that, I think it is important to look at duplicative programs, programs that accomplish the same mission through multiple agencies. I would submit to this Chamber that one of those is the Open World Leadership Center. This program--its purpose is to engage emerging leaders from post-Soviet countries by exposing them to American cultural institutions. I would argue it has outlived its usefulness. Listen, it is great that we should engage others from around the world. We should engage their leaders. I think that can help bridge the gap.…”