Political Quotes

“there has been, appropriately enough, a lot of discussion about our $16 trillion national debt and our $1 trillion Federal deficit. This is, in fact, an enormously important issue, and it is an issue that Congress must address. But it must address this crisis in a way that is fair to the middle class and to working families and our seniors and our kids. It is an issue that must be addressed, but it must be addressed fairly. When we talk about the deficit and the national debt, it is important to remember how we got to where we are today. We can simply go back 10 years or so to January 2001 when President Clinton left office and President Bush assumed the Presidency. At that particular moment in history, in January 2001, I hope everybody remembers not only did this country have a $236 billion surplus, all of the projections for the future at that point were that that surplus was going to grow and grow and grow. In fact, at that point, this was one of the great debates taking place in Congress: What do we do with all of that money? How much do we give back in tax breaks? How much do we put into Social Security? That was the debate in January 2001. So before we discuss how we go forward in deficit reduction, with a trillion-dollar deficit, it is important to remember that, and it is important to remember how we got to where we are today. How we got to where we are today really, in a significant way, is not complicated.…”