Political Quotes

“Absolutely. I just have to say, let's be frank about it. We had one budget submitted to both Houses of Congress from the President just 2 months ago, and it was very irresponsible and has gotten no support that I can see anywhere. But the House is on track, it looks like, to pass a budget this week that will be forward-looking and substantive and alter the debt trajectory we are on, put us on a path to prosperity, because the biggest and really, to me, only real threat to our economic vitality and our ability to bounce back from this recession is the debt we are carrying. But I have to acknowledge the Senator's former colleague, Senator Simpson, and Erskine Bowles said this about Paul Ryan's proposed budget in the House: that it is ``a serious, honest, straightforward approach to addressing our nation's enormous fiscal challenges''--our ``enormous fiscal challenges.'' All right. They go on to say this, and I think it is relevant, as the Senator suggested, to the President's speech this afternoon. They go on to say: Going forward, anyone who issues an alternative plan to Chairman Ryan's should be held to the same standard when offering their own solutions. We simply cannot back away from these issues. I know that is a firm, strong statement. I know it is probably different from what we are going to hear from the President, which is ``speech'' and ``vision'' and ``hopes.'' But doesn't the Senator think we do have a right?…”