Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the American economy is struggling. We are coming out of recession--unfortunately, too slowly for most of us--but we are emerging. I can recall the ominous days when we first learned of the terrible economic crisis facing our country. Some of us who serve in the Senate Chamber were called into a meeting with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Mr. Bernanke, and then Secretary of the Treasury Mr. Paulson, and they told us the grim news that if we didn't act and act quickly, we could see the American economy sinking lower, and perhaps even experience a global depression. It was a frightening time. It was a time before this current President came to office, and we had to act together on a bipartisan basis. Decisions were made by many of us, trusting those in the Bush administration who told us if we didn't act and act quickly, jobs would be lost and businesses would fail and people would lose their savings, and it would be catastrophic. So we went forward with a plan that initially I thought to be flawed but the only show in town, trying to help financial institutions survive the terrible economy and to turn this situation around. We can say now that most of the money--virtually all of the money--that was invested in these financial institutions has been repaid with interest to the Federal Government, which is the right thing.…”