Political Quotes

“this afternoon the Senate will vote on an important amendment offered by a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Senator from Rhode Island, Jack Reed, who is also the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. I commend Senator Reed for the stellar job he has done in being a manager of this bill. He is one of the most thoughtful and responsible Members of the Senate and always has been. He has great legislative experience, having served in the House before he came here. Senator Reed's amendment addresses a major threat to our national security and the middle class--sequestration. Sequestration refers to deep, mindless, automatic cuts throughout the government. These cuts were authorized 4 years ago to force Congress to reduce the deficit in a balanced way. Unfortunately, they did not work. Republicans are unwilling to close even a single tax loophole--not a single tax loophole to reduce the deficit. Now we face the prospect of arbitrary and unreasonable cuts that were once assumed to be so stupid that Congress would not allow them to happen. But something that everyone thought was stupid is now official Republican policy. Unless we can reach a bipartisan agreement to fix sequestration, these cuts will occur, not smoothly but as if done by a meat cleaver. That threatens not only our military security but also the economic security of America's middle class, which really is our national security.…”