Kent Conrad Quotes (71 Quotes)


    While this year's deficit will be lower than last year's record shortfall, the improvement is likely to be short-lived. Declarations of victory over budget deficits only distract from the disturbing long-term budget outlook,

    If we prevail, this would have to go back to the House.

    My own view is that we ought to protect the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, then, with what is left, have significant tax cuts.

    In six short months, this administration, after advocating a tax cut that was too large and after putting belief in a 10-year estimate of revenue, have put us in the bad old days of raiding every trust fund in sight,

    You don't just stick with the same old plan when something of this consequence occurs.


    All of them are being threatened by this policy of ever escalating deficits and debt,

    There needs to be recognition by the administration that his budget is not going to get through the Senate because his priorities are not the priorities of the country.

    It is unacceptable to give this industry special protection -- protection that has never been granted any other industry in our history.

    to give us their ideas and what they would recommend we do.

    By using Social Security trust fund dollars to pay for tax cuts and other government spending, the administration significantly understates the true fiscal imbalance of the country.

    The only possible role that I can see for reconciliation would be to make modest changes in the major package to improve affordability, to deal with what share of Medicaid expansion the federal government pays, those kinds of issues, which is the traditional role for reconciliation in health care.

    Reconciliation cannot be used to pass comprehensive health care reform. It won't work because it was never designed for that kind of significant legislation; it was designed for deficit reduction.

    Negotiating sugar trade in bilateral free trade agreements is a recipe for disaster for the U.S. sugar industry, and it is unnecessary.

    I believe President Bush's campaign promises are unraveling, ... He claimed we could afford his massive tax cut, a major defense buildup, more money for education, while paying down the debt and protecting Social Security and Medicare. He was wrong.

    Those are the very things I've urged the administration to do for some time.

    national crisis that requires a national response.

    No one should believe that this vote is about deficit reduction. By insisting on another 70 billion of tax cuts ... the deficit actually goes up.

    The President is not squaring with the American people as to the seriousness of our nation's fiscal condition. It is time for people to stand up and tell the truth.

    Clearly he is conservative, ... outside the mainstream of American jurisprudence.

    The Congressional Budget Office tells us by 2052, Social Security could meet only 78 percent of its obligations. Medicare is in even worse shape. The shortfall in Medicare is eight times the deficit in Social Security. But the president has no plan to deal with that. The truth is, we need to confront all these challenges sooner rather than later.

    Anybody who has stood on the prairie in North Dakota has felt the force of the wind and knows that our state has an inexhaustible supply of wind power. The potential here to create jobs and draw millions of dollars in new investment to North Dakota is enormous.

    President Bush is the most fiscally irresponsible President in our nation's history.

    If you look at his performance, his education, his attainments, that is the kind of person who has the quality to be in the Supreme Court. This man has a mind like a jewel.

    This has been a tough year for many of our farmers in North Dakota and across the nation,

    When you put those together, what you find is that the invasion of the trust funds is far more serious than has been reported so far, far more serious,

    The only thing wrong with that statement is, it's not true, ... Of course people's privacy would have been jeopardized under such a provision.

    I think it is unlikely, absent some new information, some bombshell that comes up in the process, that I would support a filibuster.

    I believe they have an affirmative obligation to come up with spending cuts or new revenue to prevent us from raiding the Medicare and Social Security trust funds,

    We've had a double whammy We've been the victims of a surprise terrorist attack and most forecasters believe our economy is heading for recession,

    I became involved in helping those with arthritis - and those with other diseases that could benefit from access to self-injected medications - because I strongly believe people suffering from these illnesses should have access to the best medical care available today.

    This is a fundamental debate about the economic future of our country.

    I am impressed with his demeanor, his intelligence, his sense of humor, his modesty, ... Absent some bombshell, which I don't expect, I think he will be confirmed and quite handily.

    It will make tax controversies more expensive, more intrusive and more inconvenient for taxpayers.

    The reality is no one knows how much it will cost us to wage war with Iraq.

    Who would have thought that when we began this week, we would have ended in this way

    The truth is there are no surpluses, ... There are liabilities.

    I've had lengthy discussions with European farm leaders. It is clear they have an agricultural strategy to support their producers and gain dominance in world agricultural trade. They're gaining markets the old-fashioned way - they're buying them.

    It is vital that we provide North Dakota's children with nutritionally sound diets. That means ensuring that they are getting plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and are developing good eating habits for their future.

    What you've got here is the most severe winter on record, followed by the most violent winter storm in 50 years. At the same time you're facing the greatest flood threat in 150 years.

    Democratic amendments led to a package with a smaller tax cut, far more resources for paying down the debt and strengthening education, and for strengthening national defense.

    His tax cut is so big that he leaves no money to pay for a new prescription drug benefit without using the Medicare trust fund,

    Certainly, you want to rebuild, ... But we need to build smartly so that we have a better line of defense the next time Mother Nature comes calling. That's what we did in Grand Forks. We are now better protected.

    That is several lifetimes in politics, ... and that makes it hard to predict. There are lots of other capable people who, no doubt, will step forward. Certainly this was his best chance.

    It's clear to me that the majority of people I represent and the majority of the American people support his nomination.

    This administration is driving us over the cliff into deeper and deeper debt.

    Forty-three per cent of the benefit goes to the wealthiest one per cent, those who are making 900,000 a year. There is no fairness in that.

    While I agree that all emergency personnel should be highly trained, this is simply beyond the scope of what we can do in rural communities.

    This administration not only owes the country an honest budget, but a frank dialogue about the serious fiscal challenges that lie ahead.

    We have just had a massive disaster, ... This is not a time to be cutting services to the most needy among us.

    Access to computers and the Internet has become a basic need for education in our society.


    More Kent Conrad Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Countries - Debts - Business & Commerce - Budgeting - Reconciliation - Education - America - Security - Truth - People - Tax - Conservative - History - Time - Money & Wealth - Law & Regulation - World - Planning - Communities - View All Kent Conrad Quotations

    Related Authors


    Zbigniew Brzezinski - Robert A. Taft - Nancy Pelosi - Maurice Bishop - Mario Cuomo - Marcus Porcius Cato - Joe Lieberman - Janet Napolitano - Donald Rumsfeld - Bob Dole


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Authors (by First Name)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Other Inspiring Sections