Political Quotes

“Mr. President, these are challenging economic times and Republicans have taken us to the edge of the cliff. In the limited time left to prevent government default for the first time in our Nation's history, I think we can all agree on at least one thing--the consequences of default benefit no one. That is why I made the necessary but difficult decision today to support an agreement to prevent our economy from being driven off the cliff. Default and a downgrade of our credit have the potential to cause job loss, higher interest rates, and another economic recession or even a depression. Unfortunately, the legislation before us today only staves off potential default, while doing nothing to fuel job creation and spur economic growth. In fact, it could well increase recessionary pressures on the economy. As the richest country in the world, we should never have reached this crisis point. The United States always pays its bills. And, let's be clear, the bills we are talking about are not new ones; they exist because of prior policy decisions. Fault for the linking default on our debt and an ideological budget plan rests with my Republican colleagues. The President thought he could negotiate a grand bargain, but it turned out Republicans were not interested in compromise. Since the onset of the debate surrounding the need to raise the debt ceiling, the American people have made their position clear: They want a fair and balanced approach to reducing the deficit.…”