Political Quotes

“I take a moment to recognize a milestone we reached today that was simply unthinkable eight short years ago. While it has gone largely unnoticed, in my view it represents real hope for our children's future. Today, for the first time in 70 years, we bought back part of our Nation's debt. It was a relatively small amount--$1 billion--compared to our $5.7 trillion debt. But at least it shows that we are willing to pay down the mortgage the federal government took out on our children's future over the last 30 years. We hear a great deal about wasteful spending, and we need to remain vigilant to root out wasted taxpayer dollars. But in my view, the most wasteful federal spending is the money we are forced to spend on interest to support our publicly held debt--debt which represents all the tough choices we did not make. Last year, we spent nearly $230 billion on interest payments on the debt. That compares with the roughly $38 billion the federal government spent last year on education. Those of us who care deeply about keeping government from spending more than it takes in need to continue to make fiscally responsible choices so we can remove the millstone of debt from the necks of our children as quickly and responsibly as possible.”