Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I think this amendment is really the height of irresponsibility. It is the height of the ostrich saying, ``Let us put our heads in the sand.'' It is the height of the Alfred E. Newman, ``What, me worry,'' syndrome. It pretends we do not have a problem when everybody knows there is a problem, every American. If we talk to Americans out there, they know there is a problem with Social Security. Yet what we are hearing over here is, ``What? There is no problem. There is nothing we need to do here.'' I am glad, actually, that the gentleman from California has brought this amendment to us tonight, because at least it gives us a chance to call attention to the fact that we have a problem. I urge the Members of this body and I urge the American people to read this report, this interim report of the Commission, because it does talk about some of the problems. The simple fact is, we have a system right now that really is not sustainable in the long run. The gentleman from Florida said it very well: We have a cash flow problem that begins in 2016, a cash flow problem. That is a very real problem that we have to deal with 15 years from now, in 2016.”