July 26: Leaders Talk Debt Solutions

A few quotes from government leaders regarding the debt ceiling dilema raging in Washington:

1. Sen. Chuck Schumer: Speaking July 25 on MSNBC regarding how to get Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's recent budget proposal through: Everyone talks about House-Senate, it's really Democrats and Republicans because in the Senate, as you know, if you don't get seven Republican votes you can't get anything done.

2. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: In a New York Observer report in April: In order to be able to move forward with a budget next year, we have to reduce spending and we have to make sure we do it in the right away, in a way that does not undermine basic safety nets for those most at risk.

3. Rep. John Boehner: Speaking last night: The United States cannot default on its debt obligations. The jobs and savings of too many Americans are at stake. What we told the president in January was this: the American people will not accept an increase in the debt limit without significant spending cuts and reforms. And over the last six months, we've done our best to convince the president to partner with us to do something dramatic to change the fiscal trajectory of our country ... something that will boost confidence in our economy, renew a measure of faith in our government, and help small businesses get back on track.

4. Pres. Barack Obama: Speaking last night: This balanced approach asks everyone to give a little without requiring anyone to sacrifice too much. It would reduce the deficit by around $4 trillion and put us on a path to pay down our debt. ... So the debate right now isn't about whether we need to make tough choices. Democrats and Republicans agree on the amount of deficit reduction we need. The debate is about how it should be done. Most Americans, regardless of political party, don't understand how we can ask a senior citizen to pay more for her Medicare before we ask corporate jet owners and oil companies to give up tax breaks that other companies don't get. How can we ask a student to pay more for college before we ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries? How can we slash funding for education and clean energy before we ask people like me to give up tax breaks we don't need and didn't ask for?

5. Rep. Steve Israel: Speaking to Patch : We want a balanced package that reduces spending by over a trillion dollars, that reforms entitlement programs and that asks oil companies to give up their $4 billion annual subsidies.