Political Quotes

“Through the Chair, I thank my colleague from New Jersey for being on the floor. When I think about the pressure being applied in the halls here, where one individual said, ``you can see the pressure running through the halls of the Capitol''--we don't see Puerto Ricans running through the halls of the Capitol. What we see are people who have been struggling with this issue and trying to get the best deal possible. But the best thing we could do for them is give them bankruptcy authority and a clear path that allows them to restructure their debt. That is all we have to do. Then everybody is in on restructuring the $72 billion of debt. They can then move on, and next January, we can have a realistic conversation in the Senate. Nothing precludes us from having it. What are we going to do about the 45 percent poverty rate? We will not have added another 10 percent to that. We will not have added to the unemployment rate, which is now higher than the 12 percent. We will still have very, very tough and thorny questions to deal with, but we can have a path for the $72 billion of debt to be successfully restructured with a plan that protects the interests of the U.S. taxpayers. I certainly want to help the people of Puerto Rico, but I also know the views here are going to be varied on what that economic strategy is for Puerto Rico. Everybody is going to have an idea.…”