Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the time we have left to work on a budget agreement is extremely short. The window in which we can avoid the terrible consequences of a shutdown is closing quickly. It is no longer measured in months or weeks. We are now down to just a few days in this deadline. The time we have to get the long legislative process started in both Houses is measured in hours. It is clear those sitting at the negotiating table have different priorities. That is true of any negotiation. We all should share the same goal: to keep the country running and to keep the momentum of our economic recovery moving forward. We all want to cut the deficit. Last week, we agreed upon a number on which to base our budget--$73 billion below the President's proposal. But disagreements remain on where we should make those cuts. We worked through the weekend to bridge that gap. We have made some progress, but we are not where we should be yet. There is another way in which the sides remain separated. Democrats have demonstrated throughout this process that we are willing to meet in the middle, but Republicans and the tea party continue to reject reality and insist, instead, on idealogy. Let me give a couple of examples. First, they refuse to recognize H.R. 1--that is the budget the House passed--isn't going to happen. The tea party pushed it through the House over the objections of some Republicans and all Democrats. Then, the Senate soundly defeated it.…”