Political Quotes

“And just want to say I enjoy very much the opportunity to serve with my colleague, Mr. Smith, on the Armed Services Committee, and I appreciate his support for this important resolution. {time} 1430 We disagree on several points. I know that Mr. Smith knows that the defense budget is not what is driving the debt in this country. I don't disagree that we need a fiscal policy and that we have got to address our fiscal concerns, but it is also the case that we have the votes, that we have the ability, as we have done in this House and as they could do in the Senate. We saw, in the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Defense Appropriations bill passed out 30-1. So it is a bipartisan bill that we ought to pass. We passed it across this floor. We ought to pass it across the Senate floor. We ought to get it to the President's desk so that he can sign it, instead of being in a situation where we are holding it hostage to a whole range of other issues and concerns. Mr. Smith and I do have big disagreements. You know, to talk about somehow that the tax cuts are impacting the Defense budget ignores the history of the fact that the Defense budget was being strangled when Barack Obama was in office. And as far as I know, nobody is accusing President Obama of cutting taxes too much. So the challenge that our military is facing and the challenge of reliable sufficient funding isn't directly tied to tax policy.…”