Political Quotes

“I rise to speak with reference to the Government Downsizing Performance, and Accountability Act that was introduced yesterday by Senator Dole as S. 1843. I am a cosponsor of this legislation, and I want to express my hope that it will receive favorable consideration by the Senate in due time. Mr. President, we work here at a time of growing awareness of the manner in which runaway entitlement spending is gnawing away at our fiscal future. That is a reality that Government policymakers are finding ever more difficult to avoid. I suppose each of us who has spoken on the issue of entitlement reform has been greeted with some derision and hostility from our audiences--they want to know--by God--how we can even dream about cutting benefits for the elderly, the sick, the veterans, the children--when there is so much Government 'waste' that needs to be cut. In fact, Mr. President, there are many bloated discretionary spending budgets that can and should be cut. This legislation would cut some of that Federal spending by more than $50 billion over the next 5 years. It is certainly not the solution to our deficit problems--but it does attempt to eliminate many forms of discretionary spending that are difficult to justify in light of existing deficit pressures. The first point I would stress about this legislation is that it would reduce the spending caps by more than $50 billion. This locks in projected savings from our cuts--guarantees them.”