Meet the New Grinch

"Katrina will be on this [defense] bill. That's what makes the defense bill a little bit attractive because Katrina will be there. It is going to be awful hard to vote against Katrina." -- Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, explaining how he plans to force approval of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

We're not the only ones appalled by the Senator's actions. Here's what a few of his colleagues on the Hill are saying:

• "Policy changes ... and huge amounts of money are put on these appropriations bills, which leads to the kind of practices which the American people and I find so disgusting."
  - Senator John McCain, R-AZ
  
  
• "The defense appropriations bill -- the bill to take care of the fighting men and women of the United States -- is being held up because they can't figure out a way to grovel and satisfy the oil companies."
  - Senator Harry Reid, D-NV
  
  
• It is utterly despicable to be put in a position of choosing between funding our troops and opposing bad public policy. My positions on the war, on private-school vouchers and on ANWR drilling are clear. If we have learned anything from the Bridge to Nowhere debacle, it's that the American people expect Congress to take a hard look at legislation before it and to reject proposals added at the last possible minute and which have absolutely no relation to the true purpose of this legislation. I urge my colleagues to keep the defense bill focused on protecting our troops ."
  - Congressman Joe Schwarz, R-7th/MI