Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. These are serious times that we're in right now with regard to the debt and deficit. Serious times call for a serious budget, and this is a serious budget. This is one that can actually lead us out of the problems we're in. That is what we need. For those on the other side of the aisle who are saying that they want to preserve Medicare by sticking to the status quo, as I think it was George Will said on Sunday, Your problem isn't Mr. Ryan, it's Mr. Arithmetic. It just doesn't work. You just can't do it. So for all this talk about preserving Medicare, preserving Medicare as it currently is means that you are consigning it to history. It won't survive. You have to change it. You have to change it in ways that make it sustainable and solvent for the long-term future. What we are hearing now is that we need more investment, and that we've got to maintain current spending levels to have more investment. I would refer you to the stimulus that we just passed a year or so ago. What good has that done? Sure, it's a lot more investment or spending-- or whatever you call it--government to government, or the government spending, but it is not enabling the private sector to create jobs. The job of the Federal Government should be to set a conducive tax and regulatory environment so that the private sector can produce jobs. That's what this budget does. That is why I support it.”