Kent Conrad

Let's not let humility prevent us from acting, because the course we are on is completely and utterly unsustainable.

We have got to be able to do better than this and we very much need your help and the help of your associates to point the way

We are not even close. I do not think on the last analysis we are in the top 20 in health care outcomes.

The notion that we are going to go from 16 percent of GDP to 18 to 20 percent of GDP, we are on a track now by 2015 we are going to be at 20 percent of GDP

Better outcomes, less cost.

I like that idea very much.

I have come to the conclusion--this is critically important--that is that right now the reimbursement system is based on procedures.

I have had some of the most prominent economists. We have had them testify here. We had Allen Sinai sit at that desk and tell us we are headed for a country that will look like a Banana Republic if we do not deal with this long-term…

I also should advise members and their staffs that tomorrow we will have the Secretary of Treasury, Mr. Geithner, here to talk about the financial sector and to talk about housing.

So what I would like to do is get rid of the Medicaid program.

They have been very focused on the long-term issues that confront the country with the budget and the complete unsustainability of our current course.

I appreciate the exceptional work that Senator Wyden has done on health care reform.

I think they have got a heavy burden to carry to make the argument that we should add substantial costs to health care.

CBO's estimate showed the deficit in 2009 would be approximately $1.2 trillion, and that is before any policy changes.

The debt of the United States doubled over the last 8 years. It is set to, I believe, double again in the next 8 unless we change our long-term policy.

I believe it is absolutely essential, once we have economic recovery underway, that we pivot and take on our long-term imbalances.

Senator Gregg's nomination to be the Commerce Secretary represents a great loss for the U.S. Senate and a great gain for the Obama administration.

A handful of people created, through excessive greed and dishonestly creating all of these esoteric financial tools which nobody understands.

If the first $350 billion had not gone out, I believe the financial system would be in collapse today.

The key is getting it out into the economy now.

I think I agree with Senator Conrad on this.

I share the assessment of Senator Conrad and Dr. Johnson that the IMF's forecast for mildly positive global growth is optimistic.

There have got to be prosecutions of criminal wrongdoing, and it is breathtaking.

$350 billion is a staggering amount of money. Staggering.

Absent the first TARP, the system would have collapsed.