Political Quotes

“I can only imagine, as I rise, that the Republican leadership is a bit uneasy about this, if not embarrassed, to still be dealing with last year's legislative business. This appropriations measure is 159 days late. That is, it has been 159 days since the beginning of fiscal year 1996, and the majority still has not passed all of the appropriation bills. This Congress has not yet gotten last year's business completed. We have got to get on with last year's appropriations bills, Mr. Chairman, or we are going to be another year behind. This, my colleagues, is a process gone awry and clearly shows bad process impacting substance. It is no way to run a railroad, let alone a legislative body. Specifically, this bill falls short of providing the resources for the United States to maintain its competitive and technological edge. If we are to remain competitive in the new world economy, we must be at the forefront in technological research and development. This bill slashes nondefense technological investment by eliminating funds for the Advanced Technology Program. In case my colleagues did not know it, Japan is very close to spending more money than the United States in absolute terms on research and development. Now that is a scary thought.…”