Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. The amendment seeks to reduce discretionary appropriations this fiscal year by $43 billion. As Members are aware, the resolution's discretionary figures for this fiscal year are fully consistent with the Budget Control Act spending limits. If they weren't, then the resolution would be subject to a 60-vote point of order. This year's resolution also includes Overseas Contingency Operations funding at $77 billion. This amount is equal to the President's request and is allowable under the Budget Control Act. The members of the Budget Committee worked hard to craft a resolution with levels that would put us on a better fiscal path, with $5.1 trillion in spending reductions over the next 10 years. The resolution already contains ample restraint to both discretionary and mandatory spending. As the Appropriations Committee has reported many of its bills already, this amendment could be detrimental to the appropriations process as it stands today and the allocation this resolution will provide. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.”