Political Quotes

“Madam President, the CBO just announced this morning that February was the largest deficit month in this country. We have run $690 billion worth of deficits through the first 4\1/2\ months of this fiscal year. We will have a $1.6 trillion deficit. This amendment the Senate has voted on before passed with 64 votes the last time it was voted on. It is a very simple, straightforward amendment. Before I get into the details of this amendment--we need a highway bill. Everybody agrees with that. This is the Senate, and the right to offer amendments has been secured, finally, after 2 weeks of negotiation. Where are we as a country? I think it is interesting to look back from fiscal years 2011 to 2001. In 2001 the total bill for the Federal Government was $1.86 trillion. It is now almost $3.61 trillion. In 2001 we had a surplus. Now we have a $1.3 trillion to $1.6 trillion deficit coming into this year. I think the American people would like to see us do something about that. Yet, at every turn, on every occasion, we have not risen to the challenge of creating an environment where jobs can flourish. One of the reasons is the Federal Government is squeezing the jobs out of the economy by taking such a large segment of them. This amendment is very straightforward and very simple. The GAO, through two reports now--one released just this last month and a second in a series of three which will become annual--has told Congress where the problems are.…”