Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I oppose motions regarding a conference because I do not support any of the costly proposals to extend the temporary payroll ``holiday,'' which destabilizes the Social Security Trust Fund and does nothing to enact the needed long-term structural reforms necessary to right our fiscal state of ship. Our country is going broke. The national debt is over $15 trillion. It is projected to reach $17 trillion next year and $21 trillion in 2021. We have annual deficits of approximately $1 trillion. We have unfunded obligations and liabilities of $62 trillion. The Social Security Actuary has said that by 2037 the trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits. This means that everyone will receive an across the board cut of 22 percent, regardless of how much money they paid into the system. Washington is dysfunctional. After months of passionately debating the importance of reducing the deficit, the President and Congress are now advocating for a policy that's barely, if at all, improved our economic outlook and further contributes to our crushing debt burden. My floor statement from December 13, which I have reposted on my Web site, further explains my opposition to the underlying legislation. During his 1796 farewell address, George Washington admonished his fellow countrymen: ``We should avoid ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden of which we ourselves ought to bear.'' The Congress should heed his advice. I voted ``no'' on this policy last December.…”