Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. On November 2 of last fall, 100 of our colleagues signed a letter, the so-called ``go big'' letter, urging the supercommittee to do the right thing. And let me quote: To succeed, all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table. In addition, we know from other bipartisan frameworks that a target of some $4 trillion in deficit reduction is necessary to stabilize our debt as a share of the economy. {time} 2100 This is what the Simpson-Bowles budget does, and only the Simpson- Bowles budget. For those of my colleagues who are worried about certain features of this, do not confuse the Simpson-Bowles report with a budget. A budget is just a framework. It's an outline. It instructs the committees to come up with certain savings, and the committees have the discretion to come up with those savings in whatever way they choose. It's true that the Simpson-Bowles report is one way of achieving those savings, but this is a guide, a target for the committees of jurisdiction. That's what we must do tonight and do on a bipartisan basis. We must come together for the good of the country. We must put our Nation first. We must set partisanship aside. This is the only way that we can pass a budget in the House and Senate this year, which we must have. It's easy to be critical; it's hard to perform. Let's make it happen for America tonight.…”