Political Quotes

“How well you've said it, Representative Tonko. The choices are very, very clear. We do have a deficit problem, and you and I should spend some time talking about how we got into that in the first place and how we can get out of it. But to put this Nation's financial strength on the table and say, as Republicans are, they are willing to let this Nation go into default on its obligations, first time ever, and if that were to happen, it would kick off another financial crisis around the world because the rest of the world depends upon the willingness of the United States to pay its debts, because that's the security in the banks around the world. {time} 1910 And if the United States isn't willing to do that, suddenly, this Nation's going to be in deep trouble, and the world economy along with it. And guess what? It's going to cost us a lot of money because the interest rates will go up. If the United States isn't trustworthy, it's risky; therefore, you have to pay higher interest. So we need to understand that this is a default crisis. It's not the debt ceiling. It is a default crisis that we're facing. And to use it as a lever to harm seniors is unconscionable. But yet that's what they're doing as they continue to call for cuts in Medicare and the Medicare program. We shouldn't let it happen. We do have--well, before we go there, I keep coming back to this. In 1965, the United States decided that we were going to end poverty among the seniors.…”