Political Quotes

“As one Senator, I thank the majority leader and the Republican leader for their comments. We all know what we need to do. We have two objectives. At a time when we are borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend, we need to reduce the debt. We also need to honor our obligations, and we know why. There is nobody on the Republican side of the aisle I know of who thinks we should not honor our obligations. We know that on August 3 there will not be enough money to pay all the bills. We don't want the most creditworthy Nation in the world to go to a place where it begins to pay its bills selectively out of a cigar box, which is why I am hopeful--and I believe all of us are hopeful--that we can find a way for the two leaders to recommend to us and the House a solution that the President will sign, which will reduce our debt and honor our obligations. But to suggest that the majority leader's proposal--his bill--which he offers in good faith, I know that--is a compromise, that is a little hard to accept. It is a Democratic proposal. The other side has spent most of its time this week saying: We can get 53 of us to make sure that as soon as the Republican proposal passes the House, if it does, we will beat it in an hour. We will not even consider it. We will kill it. We are not going to vote on it. We will table it and put it away. That is not the spirit of compromise.…”