On the recordMay 1, 2014
With all due respect, to those who may disagree with this amendment--I am seeing some bipartisan agreement; I know I have some bipartisan disagreement with this amendment--but to my colleagues, there are 90 programs that are aimed at accomplishing the very same mission. When do we come forward and say: Listen, let's cut this back; let's cut it back a little bit? The bridge isn't cut off, but we have other programs that are doing the same thing. Listen, we want to talk about what is going on in Ukraine and want to talk about what is going on in Russia. This program didn't exist in the 1980s. Ronald Reagan didn't have this program to tear down the Soviet Union. He did it with strong leadership. So to come to this institution and say: Listen, the $3.4 million in this program is going to stop the aggression of Putin, no. Strong leadership will, though. This is about when do we come together as an institution and find programs that are duplicative, programs that we can look and say: This can be scaled back and we can look to one of the other 89 programs to accomplish this same mission. There is a constituency around every dollar. That is why it is so hard in this town to scale back because everyone will come forward and go: But no, no, no; this dollar is so important. And people come from our communities and go: No, don't cut back. We are $1.7 trillion in debt. This is unsustainable.…
