Political Quotes

“Mr. President, just 3 days ago, a bipartisan majority of the members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform endorsed a package of proposals to reposition our Nation on a more responsible fiscal course. I wish to commend my good friend, the Senator from Illinois, who was a member of that Commission and took what I thought was an extraordinarily courageous vote on a package of proposals. Honestly, I know he didn't agree with every one of them, but he did understand how serious this issue is. I thank him and all my other colleagues from both sides of the aisle, along with the economists and policymakers and others who invested the time and effort and courageously grappled with these difficult choices. On Friday, 11 of the 18 members of the Commission voted to support a tough, bipartisan prescription for fiscal health. I regret that the 11 ``yes'' votes fell short of the 14 votes required to forward this plan to Congress for our consideration. In the hours leading up to Friday's vote, I was proud to work with 13 of my Senate colleagues, including the Presiding Officer, to draft a joint letter to the White House and to the bipartisan congressional leadership. This letter, signed by 14 Senators and distributed before the Commission's final vote on Friday, requested that the panel's recommendation come to Congress for our consideration regardless of the outcome of the Commission's final vote. Mr.…”