Political Quotes

“We Republicans certainly welcome the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means and his colleagues to the cause of fiscal discipline. We did not see such rhetoric when we were spending the Social Security surplus when they were in control of the Congress. But now that we want to cut taxes for the American people, now that we want to have a sound energy policy, they are concerned. We welcome their concern and, in fact, we share their goal. But the fact is that at this point the Congress has not spent or cut taxes to the extent that we encroach upon the surpluses provided by the Social Security Trust Fund or the Medicare Trust Fund. The responsible thing for this House to do today is to pass this energy bill, which provides this country a sound energy policy for the future, and then as we get toward the end of the year, we see what the fiscal picture looks like, we can put it all together. But do not hold up this bill in the cause of fiscal discipline. Today, let us pass this bill and this rule.”