A limited and focused government is essential to a growing economy. And if the Congress won't show spending restraint, I intend to enforce spending restraint. (Applause.) And this work of enforcement on spending continues today. At the end of the session, the Congress passed an emergency spending bill to strengthen our military, protect the homeland and to complete the commitment of $20 billion I made to the citizens of New York. But they also sent along more than $5 billion in extra spending I didn't ask for. Some of that $5 billion I have endorsed and will work to secure through amendments to the '03 budget -- like AIDS prevention money and support for Israel and Palestine.
But a lot of that money has nothing to do with national emergency, and I'll give you one example: a new facility for storing the government's collection of bugs and worms. I made my opposition clear. We were pretty plainspoken about the supplemental. But those who wrote the bill designed it so I have to spend all $5 of the extra billion dollars or spend none of it. That's how they wrote the supplemental. Those are the rules they placed upon my administration. I understand their position, and today they're going to learn mine. We'll spend none of it. (Applause.)
BUMP!
5 posted on 08/13/2002 4:04:13 PM PDT by Quicksilver