Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak about how we can avoid another shutdown of our government and also, even more important, avoid another shutdown or slowdown of our economy. That is how we in the Congress, both sides of the aisle, both sides of the dome, need to work to arrive at a budget agreement and then an appropriations agreement for the rest of the fiscal year. Earlier today on the floor we heard from the distinguished chair of the Budget Committee, the Senator from Washington State, Patty Murray, who talked about the budget and what was going on. I come here today to support her efforts and the work of the budget conferees as they work to reach an agreement on the funding levels that will invest in America's future--creating jobs, repairing infrastructure, keeping us safe in our communities and making sure our children are well educated for the 21st century. The budget conference is absolutely important to America's future because it is about how much we should invest in America's future: What should we do in terms of revenue? How do we close corporate loopholes and corporate welfare and also have them step up to their patriotic responsibility? Also, what is the best way to approach the funding for this government? There is no doubt we need to reduce public debt, but austerity alone is not the answer. We have seen it in Europe where, yes, they have reduced their public debt, but they have not been progrowth.…”