Political Quotes

“let me begin by praising Senator Domenici and the other negotiators for their hard work and diligence. They have worked for almost 4 months to put this resolution together and end the 18-month stalemate between the President and Congress over spending and taxes. Given these circumstances, I believe this agreement is a step in the right direction and I look forward to seeing many of its provisions enacted into law. On the other hand, while I intend support this budget resolution as a whole, I want to express reservations regarding some of its specifics. First, I consider this resolution to be just a down-payment--not a solution--to the entitlement reforms that will be necessary to ensure the Federal Government's solvency going into the next century. As we all know, the baby boom generation will soon begin to retire, which will place enormous pressure on our Federal entitlement programs. According to the CBO, ``. . . outlays for government programs that aid the elderly (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) will burgeon as the number of people eligible to receive benefits from these programs shoots up.'' Medicare is the first program to experience this problem and this resolution allows for important reforms to extend its solvency. That said, I believe these reforms neither go far enough nor call for the kinds of fundamental changes that will help Medicare stay solvent past the 10 years targeted by this resolution.”