Political Quotes

“I suspect that every budget proposal is somewhat partisan, but I hope we would try so that it would not be that. I congratulate the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt). I think we are moving in the right direction. First let me just briefly, Mr. Speaker, represent what we have done in terms of veterans' benefits. Spending has grown 51.7 percent since our first budget in the majority for an average growth of 6.1 percent each year. That is almost three times the rate of inflation representing the dedication, hopefully of both parties, to take care of our veterans. Let me now talk about the important issue of what we have been doing on spending. As my colleagues can see by this chart, discretionary spending increases have averaged 6.3 percent each year since 1996 and 7.7 percent each year in increased spending since 1998. So we should be concerned with the dramatic growth in spending. What has this done to the total debt of this country? We are looking at the total debt of this country going to $10 trillion in the next 10 years. The question, Mr. Speaker, is how do we control the debt? Do we increase taxes to control the debt we are leaving to our kids and our grandkids, or do we do it by cutting back on spending?”