Budgetary Constraints Quotes

There is nothing more permanent than a temporary government building—unless it's a temporary tax.

I think it's important that people know what raising the debt ceiling is. It's Congress giving permission to the federal government to borrow more money that we don't have, and we borrow it for the purpose of spending it.

Everyone across America is tightening their belts. The only place it hasn't happened is D.C.

I think growing an economy is a good way to help with a deficit, but ultimately, it's about fiscal discipline and responsible spending - and smart decisions.

It's easier to cancel a show if it's expensive.

The federal government spends about $2.51 per child per day to feed them lunch. Out of that, you have to pay for labor, facilities, and administrative costs, leaving about a dollar for food. Imagine trying to feed yourself a nutritious meal every day with only a dollar. Very difficult.

Our nation suffers when Congress fails to pay America's bills on time.

I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.

Congress must do what we said we would and find ways to pay for bills we propose so we don't leave future generations mired in debt.

You care about the deficit because it allows you to do things you need to do to help people who are suffering.

The Treasury has enough trouble with forecasts even when they are trying to get them right.

We can’t even project [budget surpluses and deficits] accurately month-to-month, much less for an entire year.

Our objectives are clear. Let's keep the government open and protect our constituents.

The failure to work out sensible budgets makes it impossible for government agencies to make long-term plans, and instead leaves them scrambling to spend money in the short term.

The only way to meet the situation [the financial crisis] is spend less money and to run the City of New York within the limits of our resources. Unless you do this, gentlemen, you will have a difficult problem confronting you by the end of this year and the taxpayers of 1922 and the years thereafter will have to pay the price of our present lack of prudence or our unwillingness to economize at the proper time.

We are spending a little more than we are raising each year and you wonder how long it can go on. It is too easy for us to borrow.

My goal was to do the best job I could in governing the state of Wisconsin, in some cases making very tough decisions to have to bring our spending in line with the resources we had at the state level.

Every year, virtually every governor balances the budget.

The work of the CSSF and Prosperity Fund is guided by the National Security Council. As chair of the National Security Council Sub-Committee that oversees both funds, I am working to ensure that they are accountable and measurable against their intended objectives.

A public debt is a public curse.

The only way you can raise the debt ceiling is to change the trajectory of spending - that's my personal preference. But I want the Ways and Means Committee to offer up a solution.

Contrary to … conventional wisdom, the consequence of past U. S. Defense cuts were not bad …. austerity can be useful in forcing Washington to think strategically, something it rarely does when times are flush.

We can't continue to spend where there isn't any money.

Bridges and roads take years to build, but too often, states and communities haven't known if funding will be there for them more than a few months at a time.

Too many people on the Left think that, when you move a chunk of money away from people for entitlements, that the money magically reappears and that discretionary spending will be unaffected.