Roy Cooper: “My impression is that most Members of this Congress, most folks back home are probably finishing up their supper, tired…”

“My impression is that most Members of this Congress, most folks back home are probably finishing up their supper, tired after the long day at work; if they are tuned in to C-SPAN, all of them are wondering where is the straight talk about the U.S. economy, where is straight talk about their job and their future, or how long will their unemployment continue to last. People want real information, real facts. So many of the Federal budget numbers are so large that it is hard for the average citizen to comprehend. It is hard for the average Congressman or woman to understand. I know the gentleman from South Carolina has played a long and constructive role in budget debates for many years now, helping, for example, in the Clinton years to build a surplus. I think that is a period of real pride in American history. I think the gentleman just passed the chart right there, where we got out of a sea of red ink and actually built up toward a surplus and achieved a surplus in 8 short years, the first time that had been done in some 40 years in American history. So that was a truly significant accomplishment but, unfortunately, it has been largely voided by recent events.”