Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to thank the Senator from Indiana for his thoughtful presentation. There are parts of it with which I disagree, but the overall theme of what he has said is undeniably true. I believe our country is in deep trouble. At the end of this year, we will have a debt that is 100 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States. We have had two of the leading economists in this country tell us, after a review of 200 years of economic history, that when a country reaches a gross debt of more than 90 percent of its GDP, its future economic prospects are diminished. And that is where we are. So I agree with the Senator from Indiana that this is the time. We must find a way to come together to craft a plan that deals with this debt threat. Five years ago, the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, Senator Gregg, and I came up with the concept of a commission. That effort led to the commission that was in place last year, and it came up with a recommendation to reduce the debt $4 trillion over the next 10 years, and 11 of 18 commissioners supported it. Senator Gregg and I both supported it. We had five Democrats, five Republicans, and one Independent. That is the only bipartisan plan that has emerged from anywhere. But we needed 14 of 18 to agree for it to come to a vote in Congress. There were many parts of that plan I didn't like. I would have gone further than that plan.…”