Political Quotes

“when I came to the Congress 3 years ago, I brought a list of priorities: Balancing the budget, cleaning up the environment, and promoting economic development and small business opportunities. But after working on Capitol Hill for just a few months, I learned that more often than not, special interests, not public interests, drive the legislative agenda in Washington. That is why so much of the changes voters demanded, like cutting Government waste and curbing rising health care costs are so difficult to achieve. Under our grossly deficient campaign finance system, well-heeled lobbyists and PACs have greater influence over Washington's business than the folks back home. A perfect example is the 2-year debate about how to balance the budget. Congress could have passed a credible plan to balance the budget last year in the absence of special interests. Year after year, programs that have long outlived their usefulness are preserved in the budget. Everything from tax loopholes for energy and marketing subsidies are taboo when it comes to cutting Government spending, while education, employment and training programs for the working poor are on the chopping block. Even if we do get a balanced budget this year, Mr. Speaker, odds are that that balanced budget will contain costly tax breaks that benefit special interests and disproportionate cuts to the lower and middle class.”