Political Quotes

“I would like to talk a minute about the challenge facing this Congress as we develop next years new budget. Part of the question is, are we really going to pay down the debt, and do we really have a balanced budget. The answer is no on both counts. As Members will notice this chart, I have divided our debt into three segments, because there is a great deal of confusion in terms of what our debt really is. Are we really paying down the debt? We hear the candidates running in this first primary today in New Hampshire talking about the importance of paying down the debt. Madam Speaker, the total debt of this country is now $5.72 trillion. This $5.72 trillion I have divided up into three categories. One is what I call the Wall Street debt, or the debt held by the public. That is approximately $3.6 trillion. The other portion of the debt is the social security surplus about $1 trillion. Right now, because we are overtaxing American workers, we are bringing in about $153 billion this year more in social security taxes than is required for the payment of current benefits. For the last 40 years we have been using that extra social security surplus to fund on other government programs. The middle portion of this chart represents what we have borrowed from the other 112 trust funds. Madam Speaker, I think it is so important that we not, if you will, hoodwink or mislead the American people that we are paying down the debt of the country when we really are not.”