Political Quotes

“I rise to speak about the current status of the ongoing bipartisan budget talks. We are in a much better place than we were 2 weeks ago. The two sides are much closer than we might be able to tell from the public statements. After 3 months of back and forth, two short-term continuing resolutions containing cuts, and one near collapse of the talks last week, we are finally headed for the homestretch. Last night, we had a very good meeting with the Vice President. Afterwards, he confirmed that the House Republicans and we in the Senate are, for the first time in these negotiations, working off the same number. As the Vice President said last night, there has been agreement to meet in the middle, around $33 billion in cuts. The Appropriations Committees on both sides are now rolling up their sleeves and getting to work to figure out how to best arrive at that number. Today, Speaker Boehner said: Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. That is a fair and reasonable position to take. He need not publicly confirm the $33 billion number. But as long as both sides keep their heads down and keep working, a deal is in sight. We are right on the doorstep. But there are outside forces that do not like this turn of events. Outside the Capitol today, there was a tea party rally staged to pressure Republican leaders not to budge off H.R. 1. They want Speaker Boehner to abandon these talks and hold firm, even if that means a government shut down on April 8.…”