Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank my colleague for his courtesy. I am not speaking about this issue. I saw he looked over in this direction. I will be brief. I rise to speak about the current debate over the Federal debt. Last week, H.R. 1, the House Republican scorched-earth spending proposal that counts among its casualties such priorities as border security, cancer research, disaster preparedness, and much needed investments in domestic energy production, was summarily defeated in the Senate. That same day, a Democratic alternative that would have cut spending by $10 billion, compared to current levels, and $51 billion, compared to the President's budget request, was also defeated. We were hopeful these failed votes would be an opportunity to start afresh. We thought it would allow us to hit the reset button on the negotiations. The purpose of those votes was to make it clear that both sides' opening bids in this debate were nonstarters and thus pave the way for a serious, good-faith compromise. Unfortunately, an intense ideological tail continues to wag the dog in the House of Representatives. One week after those test votes failed in the Senate, House conservatives are still showing no yield. We have moved $10 billion in their direction. They have not budged an inch off H.R. 1, even though H.R. 1 did not get a single Democratic vote in the Senate. In fact, the Republican conservatives in the House are digging in.…”