"But as we all know now, it did not work out that way."
"Our work in the 1990s proved that calling on the wealthy to pay their fair share is not incompatible with strong economic growth."
"The statistic is that CBO has lowered its estimate of Federal spending for Medicare and Medicaid to such a degree that spending for 2020, one year, just one year, is now $200 billion lower than CBO th..."
"That is why I believe very strongly that we should replace the sequester with a balanced package of responsible spending cuts and revenue from the wealthiest Americans."
"Leaving the sequester in place would lead to massive, self-inflicted damage that would hurt middle-class families."
"We all know sequestration was never intended to take effect."
"I know Democrats here in the Senate feel very strongly that protecting our fragile economic recovery is paramount."
"I hope Republicans are now prepared to tell us their ideas for a bipartisan path forward."
"mainly used by a relatively small group of mostly higher income individuals."
"We should also address the tens of billions of dollars lost each year to offshore tax abuse."
"We need to tackle our deficits and debt in a balanced way, with a mix of spending cuts and new revenue from those who can afford it most."
"An essential part of any agreement will be asking the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share."