Political Quotes

“we are now debating a resolution that would raise the Federal debt ceiling, allowing the Federal Government to borrow enough money to meet its obligations. I doubt anyone in this Chamber is happy at the prospect of approving another such increase. I know I am not. Yet we must approve it. Failure to pass this resolution would do incalculable harm to our government's standing with financial markets and endanger nearly every activity the government undertakes. It would throttle the faint, fragile signs of recovery from the deepest financial crisis in 75 years. Refusal to pass this resolution is not an option. It would be irresponsible and dangerous to the jobs and income of every American. Yet the magnitude of this action is staggering. If successful in this necessary endeavor, we will authorize the Treasury to carry more than $13 trillion dollars in debt. That is more than $42,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. While the debt itself is enormous, the rate to which we have been adding to it in recent years is equally staggering. The year President Clinton left office, the government ran a $236 billion surplus. Yet, after 8 years of Republican leadership, that surplus evaporated into a mind-boggling $1.3 trillion deficit the day President Obama took office. The message of these numbers is simple: We cannot go on as we are. If we do not change our budget policies, and change them a great deal, we will plunge our economy into deep depression.”