Political Quotes

“last evening I came to the House floor to talk about one of the most critical issues facing our Nation today. Our country's financial outlook is desperate. How do we stop the red ink and the bleeding? How do we come together as Republicans and Democrats and make certain that the American people don't suffer for our out-of-control spending? I'm talking about entitlements and other mandatory spending. How do we change course? Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security combined with interest on the national debt will consume all of the government's revenue by the year 2026. According to the GAO, balancing the budget in 2040 would require cutting total Federal spending by 60 percent or raising taxes by 2 rac{1}{2} times today's level. Both would devastate the economy. The longer we wait to get serious about this reality, the harder and more abrupt the adjustments will be for the American people. I ask every colleague in the House, how will you feel when there isn't enough money for medical research, for cancer research, for Alzheimer's, for Parkinson's, or for autism? How will you feel when you know it was today's Congress, this Congress that we all have the honor to serve in, that passed the buck to the next generation, that avoided the issue, and said it was just too hard?”