Political Quotes

“I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the Conrad-Gregg amendment. I believe the issues this amendment is designed to address--our national debt and deficits as far as the eye can see--are two of the most important issues Congress and our Nation face. Our failure to address these issues will damage our economy, our Nation's security, peace in the world, and the kind of future we leave to our children and grandchildren. The greatness of the issue has resulted in the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, Senators Conrad and Gregg, coming together and introducing the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act, which is supported by 29 Senators--14 Democrats and 15 Republicans. I am pleased to say I am one of those 15 Republicans. I think those who followed the recent operations of the Senate will appreciate that in this Balkanized Senate, where nothing seems to get done on a bipartisan basis, this commission has significant bipartisan support. The Conrad-Gregg proposal would create a statutorily based commission of 18 members, 16 of them Members of Congress, who would study the long-term fiscal imbalance of the Federal Government and submit recommendations as a legislative proposal that would receive expedited consideration by Congress resulting in an up-or-down vote. The commission would consider all options on both sides of the ledger and would require the approval of 14 of its 18 members, ensuring a bipartisan product.”