Political Quotes

“on Monday we begin consideration of the deficit reduction bill, a bill that goes by the title of a reconciliation bill. Indeed, it has been 8 years since we have addressed spending on a reconciliation bill, a critically important bill. It may well be the most important piece of fiscal legislation we will debate. I fully expect it will be enacted this year. For those who may watch this debate, I should be clear that the bill we will debate is focused on one piece of the Federal budget, not the entire Federal budget. It is, however, a major piece of the budget, mandatory spending. That word ``mandatory,'' sometimes referred to as entitlement spending, represents about $1.4 trillion or 56 percent of overall Federal spending this year. It will continue to grow in the future, particularly as that demographic shift occurs, as the baby boomers begin to travel through our system in 2008. Mandatory spending, entitlement spending, encompasses a whole range of programs familiar to my colleagues--Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Federal-civilian military retirement, student loans, TRICARE, foster care, child nutrition, SSI, unemployment insurance, farm price support programs, veterans disability, and the list goes on. If Federal spending is to be controlled--and it absolutely must be controlled-- over time, these programs are going to have to be addressed. They are going to have to be reformed.…”