Scott Milburn Quotations

President Bush is committed to fostering an environment where innovation succeeds and small businesses can flourish.

Spending restraint was a major priority in the budget process, and the proof is in the pudding.

Under the constitution, federal laws take priority over inconsistent state laws. Decisions about whether particular rules should preempt state laws are made agency by agency and rule by rule.

We're not going to just walk away from a good idea just because someone disagrees with it.

We urge Congress to act on this latest request as quickly as possible to help further the recovery effort. The latest request is the right approach for this stage of the recovery, but a request for additional funds is expected after the turn of the year.

We asked for $4 billion in savings in 2005 and got only $300 million, but we dusted ourselves off and asked for the savings again, and more, and got $6.5 billion the next year. Persistence pays off if you're doing the right thing.

This report confirms the dramatic improvement in the 2005 deficit picture that the administration reported last month, ... The president is committed to the combination of strong economic growth and spending restraint that will keep us on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009.

We've got to get away from the idea that it's OK to waste just a little money. When you've got a $2.77 trillion budget, a lot of little problems add up to big money.

With the 2004 and 2005 fire season having been relatively less active than normal, surplus funds sit in this account and can be rescinded without hurting the program,

The president's insistence on spending restraint resulted in both the highway and energy bills coming in far less than originally proposed by Congress.

The president signed into law a $100 million increase for the corps for the current fiscal year compared to the previous year's level.

Currently the federal government does share royalties with coastal statesmore than $3 trillion to date, in fact. Changing this amount only increases the budget deficit and diminishes the benefit the rest of the nation receives from these national resources.

There's going to be savings. And as the president said, he's committed to finding savings and we're in the process of finding savings.

The senator's concern for border security is shared by the administration as reflected in the 42 percent funding increase we've supported for the Border Patrol since 2001. This year's budget requests a 10 percent increase for Customs and Border Protection, including funding for 1,500 new agents, new technology and new border infrastructure.

As GAO states in its letter, OMB did not advise agencies to withhold funds and OMB staff specifically instruct agencies not to improperly withhold funding in the case of cancellations.

As we move forward we will of course be looking for opportunities to find savings on top of what we have already proposed.

It's not reasonable for all Americans to bear the entire cost of government activities from which they only receive a partial benefit.

It should be no surprise that two different organizations, using different analysts, different methodologies and different assumptions come to different math at the end of the day. Where there's no difference, however, is that both OMB and CBO forecast that we meet the president's goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009.

Congress presented a bill certified by both chambers. It's been signed into law, and we consider the matter closed.

Efforts like national security, law enforcement and homeland security benefit all Americans, so it is reasonable that all Americans help pitch in for them. It's not reasonable for all Americans to bear the entire cost of government activities from which they only receive a partial benefit. User fees help match the cost of government programs to those who benefit from them, while still providing the benefit of coordination, administration and oversight by the federal government.

The federal government's near-term fiscal improvements give us the chance and the responsibility to deal with the long-term budget challenges posed by demographic changes and ever-rising health care costs.

The CBO report confirms the dramatic improvement in the 2005 deficit picture that the Administration reported last month, ... A strong economy fueled by tax relief is generating stronger-than-projected revenues.

If there are other ideas that are out there, we want to hear them.

If we believe a policy is sound, we're going to continue to work to put it in place. Persistence pays off if you believe you're doing the right thing.

Instead, the president's subsequent budgets have increased funding for all of these programs. The country can meet the goal of cutting the deficit in half and still invest in key programs for vulnerable Americans, and claims to the contrary aren't supported by the facts of recent budget history.

Children who have lost a parent need every assistance and encouragement we can provide, and everything the federal government can do to encourage them to stay in school and get an education makes it that much more likely that they can succeed.

By far the bulk of new funding 75% of it has been to restore the hollowed-out military the president inherited, strengthen homeland defenses after 9/11, and fight the war on terror. These are essential investments that were required ... to protect our nation.