Roy Cooper: “Well, we probably should mention the meeting that you and I had with all the other Blue Dogs with three remarkably…”

“Well, we probably should mention the meeting that you and I had with all the other Blue Dogs with three remarkably distinguished Americans this afternoon because they, too, gave us some insight in our current fiscal situation in this country. I don't think you've mentioned this before earlier in the hour, but former Secretary of Treasury Bob Rubin came to meet with us, as well as former Secretary of Treasury Larry Summers, as well as former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Roger Altman. One of our group called them actually the dream team of treasury management in recent American history, because under Secretary Rubin, Summers and Altman, we had 8 of the greatest years of growth in all of American history, certainly the longest sustained period since World War II. It was an amazing performance, an amazing feat, one that I hope that future treasury secretaries can try to live up to. But the key was sound fiscal management. Secretary Rubin in particular set the tone by making sure that the markets in this country were strong, making sure that growth was strong, making sure that prosperity was strong. So it was an amazing thing to hear these three gentlemen. And they're very concerned today because, unlike the surpluses that were being accumulated in the Clinton administration, especially in the last 3 years, now, of course we've sunk into terrible deficits.”