Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we are obviously pleased that our Senate leaders, Senators McConnell and Reid, have negotiated a bipartisan way to end this crisis. This agreement will open government, will allow us to honor our bills, and it sets up a mechanism, using the regular order of the Senate, to resolve the budget impasse and to hopefully negotiate a budget for this country. The good news is that in passing this compromise agreement we will end this self-inflicted harm on our country that has been caused by the government shutdown and the threatened failure for us to honor the obligations of this country. Make no mistake about it. We have harmed our country. The shutdown, which started on October 1, has hurt America's economy. The threatened default on our obligations has hurt America's creditworthiness reputation. Consumer confidence has been damaged. Consumer confidence is important. That is where people are willing to go out and buy or travel or go to restaurants. As a result of the uncertainty caused by this self-inflicted crisis, consumer confidence has fallen dramatically. That has an impact on so many businesses in our communities--so many businesses. Many small businesses have been hurt very badly. This morning I joined Senator Boxer in bringing some small business owners here to demonstrate the harm that was done. We heard from the operator of Blackwater Paddle and Pedal Adventures, located on the eastern shore of Maryland near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.…”