Political Quotes

“We all should continue to be concerned about the debt of the Federal Government. We continue to increase the debt subject to the debt limit, and I would just remind Members that in 1979, when we started the so-called rule 49, the Gephardt rule, that says we are automatically going to increase the debt when we pass the budget resolution, at that time we had a debt of $829 billion, which was 33 percent of GDP, of gross domestic product. Today the debt is $5.2 trillion, almost 70 percent of GDP. When we brag about being the shining knight on the white horse that is bringing the deficit down, I would just like to call to the attention of my colleagues what has really brought the deficit down. We had huge tax increases in 1990 and again in 1993, but an economic system that surged ahead. Our free enterprise capitalistic system continued to expand revenues while spending continued to increase faster than inflation. But in the process, the deficit has gone down. This budget proposal, I would have written to have tax decreases that spur economic growth and job creation more than we do in this proposal.”