Political Quotes

“Mr. President, most commissions appointed in Washington-- at least in my experience--hardly make a ripple, people hardly notice them. After a lot of hard work, a report is published and that is about it. Some historian at a later date may look at the work they have done and the research they have done and that is about it, that is the extent of it. There are a few exceptions. I was fortunate enough almost 2 years ago to be appointed to one of those exceptions and that was President Obama's deficit reduction commission, the Simpson-Bowles Commission. I was appointed because I am a member of the Appropriations Committee and Senator Reid said we should have someone from Finance, Appropriations, and Budget. I took the assignment of one of the three Democratic Senators. There were three Republican Senators, three Republican House Members, three Democratic House Members, and an additional six public members. The public members consisted of a number of people, including Alice Rivlin, respected in Washington, as well as a number of business and community leaders. We met for about a year and considered the budget deficit and all of the Federal spending and came to know one another a little bit during that period of time. One of the members of that commission was Paul Ryan, a Congressman from Janesville, WI, just over the border from my State of Illinois. I knew Paul before and got to know him a little better during the course of that commission. He is a very bright person.…”