Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to House Resolution 38, which imposes dramatic cuts to our budget without any regard to its effects on our Nation's economic recovery or Rhode Island families struggling to stay afloat. Our Nation faces a serious budget deficit, but we also face a jobs deficit and a fragile economic recovery. Rhode Island currently has the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country at 11.5 percent. The Republican proposal to cut non-security programs by 21 percent goes too far too fast, resulting in additional potential job losses and reductions to critical services that could threaten our economic recovery and countless families who are barely getting by as it is. It makes drastic cuts to our school systems and student aid for college, slashes housing assistance in the wake of record foreclosures, and reduces lending support for small businesses. This proposal also contradicts the recommendations of the Bipartisan Fiscal Commission, of which some of our Republican leaders were participants. In its final report released on December 1, 2010--less than eight weeks ago--the commission stated in its second guiding principle that ``budget cuts should start gradually so they don't interfere with the ongoing economic recovery. Growth is essential to restoring fiscal strength.'' The Commission then stated in its first recommendation that we should not return to pre-recession 2008 levels until 2013.…”