Political Quotes

“Madam President, to say the legislation before us is not ideal is truly an understatement. The notion that our deficit problem can be solved solely by cutting spending flies in the face of our experience, when in fact unwise tax cuts for the wealthy and egregious tax loopholes are significant culprits in our fiscal crisis. I believe too many Republicans are influenced by an ideology so extreme that it promised to wreak economic havoc if they did not get their way. ``No additional revenues'' became the battle cry--an approach that prevents the balanced deficit reduction the American people rightly support. The result is that this legislation incorporates some policies that are profoundly unfair to middle-income Americans. Seen in isolation, Madam President, this is not a good bill. But no public policy exists in a vacuum. Despite its many flaws, this legislation must pass. Let me explain why. While there will be a number of negative consequences as a result of this bill's passage, there will be more dire consequences if it fails to pass. The choice here is between a faulty piece of legislation on the one hand and severe damage to our economy and even greater joblessness on the other.…”