Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), my friend, for yielding time. This is a very important discussion to be having, not just among ourselves, but with the Nation and with the country. Mr. Speaker, I start by thanking the gentleman not only for his sincere interest in this issue, but our growing friendship, as well. As I tell people back home, so often, you need to have a relationship first to then be able to build trust. When you build that trust, that is when you can go and find those solutions. I am sure the gentleman has some constituents in Hawaii, much like I have constituents over in Michigan who sometimes say: Why are you even talking to those people? Let's just ignore them. Well, sorry, folks. We can't do that. That is not reality. We have to deal with our colleagues, and guess what. We have gotten a very special group of people who have said: We realize that we are not going to be able to solve every problem. We are not even going to try to solve every problem, but this is a growing issue and problem for us that we need to focus and concentrate on. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is using this as an opportunity, the same as I will, to discuss some difficult truths about what we are facing and what my constituents back in southwest Michigan and the gentleman's constituents in Hawaii are all dealing with. Frankly, the size of our national debt is just climbing at an alarming rate. It now exceeds over $35 trillion with a t.…”