Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first, I want to start by thanking my colleagues here today, particularly Chairman Enzi, who leads the Budget Committee, as well as Senator Perdue for not only being the only freshman who serves on the Budget Committee but for leading us on the floor in the discussion of this very important topic of our Federal broken budget system. Once again, today, Congress has just met our deadline to fund the government past the end of the fiscal year. While many of us in the Chamber, as well as the American people, are rightly frustrated by this requirement for a last-minute reprieve, it is a reminder of our broken Federal budget process and why we can no longer afford to continue down this dangerous path. I spent a great deal of time holding different meetings across South Dakota during August, meeting with folks all over the State. During that time, our soaring national debt and runaway spending has continued to be a concern to me. What I relayed to them about our country's fiscal future and what I would relay to you now is that it is just not very pretty. I shared with them a report from the Congressional Budget Office, which, in January of this year, released an indepth analysis of our debt and our deficit. It found that, by 2026, annual deficits will double the share of GDP to 4.9 percent--more than tripling in dollar terms to $1.37 trillion, or $1,370 billion, as the chairman of the Budget Committee likes to put it.…”