Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, for those just tuning in, this might well be called ``Trillions after 10,'' because as we approach the 10 o'clock in the evening hour here in Washington, we are beginning to consider how trillions of dollars, of taxpayers' dollars of the American people, are to be expended. Why this manner of consideration? Because this Republican budget, taken up after a full day of dilly-dallying, like most of this Congress, this Republican budget is truly a national embarrassment. It rejects the whole spirit of bipartisanship that produced the first balanced budget in decades, and the largest Federal surplus in the history of this Nation as a result of a bipartisan spirit. Instead of a bipartisan approach to trying to resolve our budget for the next few years, the approach we hear tonight is the same tired old rhetoric of tax and spend that had to be rejected in order to get us together in a bipartisan spirit for this budget. We came in as members of the Committee on the Budget to consideration of this proposal in much like the circumstances we find ourselves in tonight, with a take-it-or-leave-it budget, that rejected at the outset the number one goal of budgeting this year, and that is to save Social Security, first and foremost. We presented an amendment that suggested that every penny of this large surplus ought to be devoted to protecting and preserving the Social Security system. That approach was rejected.”