Political Quotes

“I think all of us understand the gravity of the challenge we face. This so-called fiscal cliff has been subject to parody and comedy routines, but it is very serious. If Congress fails to act, enacting a measure to be signed by the President, the taxes will go up on every single income-tax-paying American--every one of them; not just the wealthy but everyone. What it means, frankly, is whether one lives in Connecticut, such as the Presiding Officer, or Illinois, such as myself, every family is going to see several things happen automatically. Taxes will go up, the payroll tax cut that has helped this economy is going to disappear, unemployment benefits are going to disappear for millions of Americans who are searching for work, and many other changes will take place, none of which will be favorable in terms of an economic recovery. I think we ought to stop and reflect for a moment on lessons learned. Here is what I have learned. If we are going to solve this problem, we need to do two things. We need to be prepared on both sides of the table to give. That is a hard thing for many people to acknowledge, but we do; we have to be willing to give on both sides of the table. I remember Senator Reid receiving a letter after the supercommittee was hard at work coming up with a bipartisan proposal. It was signed by virtually every Senator on the other side of the aisle and it said: Do not include a penny of revenue. That was the end of the supercommittee.…”