Political Quotes

“I will be brief and then yield to my friend from Maryland. I believe we can deal with our debt responsibly. I say that having been through a year and a half working on this issue. I am still not an expert, but I know a lot more about it than I did from the start. Democrats and Republicans worked together on the President's deficit commission and came up with a plan supported by 11 out of the 18 members, including myself, and a number of Republican Senators and Democratic Senators, including Kent Conrad, chairman of the Budget Committee. We all supported it. We believe there is a way to reduce the debt by $4 trillion over 10 years and in a sensible, balanced way, bringing into consideration not only spending cuts but also reform of our entitlement programs and revenue. On the entitlement programs, many Senators and many people get nervous when we talk about Social Security and Medicare. I will say I am committed to these programs. I believe in them. The reason I stayed with this conversation is because I wish to make certain that at least one, maybe more, at the table feel as I do about the importance of Social Security and Medicare. I believe we can make reasonable changes in each of those programs, preserve the basic benefit structure, particularly for working Americans, and make sure they have the promise of the security which these programs bring. I know people in retirement wonder if the savings are going to last, whether their pension will be around.…”