Political Quotes

“I thank the Presiding Officer. What the Republicans have done is to walk out of negotiations and say they will not accept any deficit reduction package if it includes revenue measures. So let's call this what it is. If Republicans refuse to consider compromise solutions, they are threatening all of us, the whole country, with economic catastrophe in order to protect the sky- high income of millionaire hedge fund managers and offshore tax avoiders. Those are two of the loopholes--two of many loopholes--we have identified that should be closed that Republicans refuse to consider closing. So what they are doing--and we should make no mistake about this--is holding the well-being of all Americans hostage to the tax breaks of a wealthy few. We all agree we must act to reduce the deficit. We have acknowledged, as Democrats, the need for spending cuts, even painful cuts to programs we support. That is why I am so troubled by the utter refusal of the Republicans to consider even modest compromises in the direction of new revenue. There is an overwhelming consensus among budget experts that we cannot achieve serious deficit reduction with spending cuts alone. There is an overwhelming consensus among economists that drastic cuts in Federal outlays will threaten our economic recovery--just as such cuts have throttled recovery in other nations.…”