Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today the President of the United States unveiled the last budget of his Presidency: $4.1 trillion. Of that, $1.1 trillion is discretionary spending, which is the amount Congress will discuss over the next few months. It is no big secret that Presidential budgets typically are dead on arrival--this one especially so, obviously, as it is the last one of the President's term. It is a requirement of the 1974 Budget Act. The President turns in his budget by the first Monday of February. It is actually now into the second week. It is a week late, but it is closer to on time than the budgets of other Presidents have been in the last few years. There are a lot of wish list items in the President's budget. It also includes about $3.4 trillion in new taxes over the next 10 years. It increases spending by $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years, including next year. The challenge in the President's spending plan is that he increases spending so much that we also continue to increase the deficit, the debt, and our interest payments. This body should realize that on the current track, the Congressional Budget Office and the President's budget that he released today forecast that within the next 10 years, the United States of America will spend more on interest on our debt than we spend on national defense. I want everyone to soak that in. Within 10 years, the Federal taxpayer will spend more on interest on our debt--our debt payments-- than we spend on national defense.…”