Political Quotes

“The Constitution gives the responsibility for the Nation's finances to the House of Representatives. It is the House's responsibility to pay the Nation's debts, to manage the Nation's finances, to protect our ability to borrow, when necessary. The Founders warned us about the dangers of excessive debt, the dangers of perpetual debt, and yet we find ourselves with the highest level of debt to our GDP that we have had since World War II. The World War II generation came out of a literal battle, a war to save the world from imperialist Japan and Nazi Germany, which caused significant borrowing to fund that war, to fund that conflict, but that generation paid that debt down to a manageable level shortly thereafter. Here we are today with $32 trillion in debt, nearly $100,000 per American citizen. I have said that many times on this floor, in committee hearings, in speeches and interviews, $100,000 per American citizen. One time when I said that on this very floor, it was opposite the then Budget Committee chairman from the other side, Mr. Speaker. When his time came to speak, he said, stop saying that. We are not asking anybody to pay it back. As if it was not real, as if it was monopoly money, and if it didn't matter. However, the days of spending without consequence are now over.…”