Political Quotes

“The gentleman said a lot, and I could have a lot of comments on that, but I will say this. As long as the gentleman believes it's only us saying that we need a balanced program, he will oppose it because we are Democrats. If the gentleman listens to independent advice all over this country, from all sorts of sources, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, they will say you need a balanced approach. We need to cut spending. We need to restrain spending and we need to balance the cost of what we provide with the income that we have. Every businessperson, small, medium, and large, understands that concept. We have not followed it, and we did not follow it in the last decade. I regret the fact that the gentleman doesn't like the President going around the country and telling the truth saying what the consequences may well be. Now, are they going to be on March 1? No. But will they inevitably occur if the sequester stays in place? The answer to that I think is an emphatic, ``Yes.'' I think the President is going around the country saying these are the alternatives. And saying that the Senate won't act or the President won't act-- people did not elect me, I will tell you, to make the President act or to make the Senate act. They didn't think I could do that. What they did think I could do was make Steny Hoyer act. And if I were the majority leader, they expected me to have the House act, even if people didn't agree with legislation I put on the floor.…”