Political Quotes

“the budget reconciliation process has been used since 1974 as a vehicle to set priorities, enact fiscal discipline, and reduce deficits. The last three budget reconciliation packages, which were passed in 1990, 1993, and 1997, each attempted to reduce the deficit by an average of $367 billion over 5 years. However, this year, the Republican majority has decided to split the budget reconciliation package into two parts. The first, which will come before this Chamber this week, likely on Thursday, will make deep cuts to vital government initiatives that directly improve the lives of millions of average Americans. The second, which may not come to the floor until after Thanksgiving, would further extend tax cuts to corporations and to individuals in the very highest income brackets. When taken together, the Republican reconciliation package will add $35 billion to the Federal deficit over the next 5 years, a fact that should disprove the other side's claim that this is an attempt to enact fiscal discipline or restore our budget to balance. It does not. The fact that we are handling this process in piecemeal does not hide the majority party's preference for providing tax cuts that benefit only a limited number of people and corporations rather than making the investments in our future that will enable hard-working families and our communities to meet their obligations.…”