Dana Bash Quotes

George W. Bush is a big spender…. When Congress sends up a bill with big. fat, crackling pork, he says, “Where’s the barbecue sauce?”

I think it's the broadest source of dissatisfaction amongst Republicans, out-of-control spending.

You know, when Republicans were in charge, we doubled the debt. But, now, our concern is the Democrats are in charge and they're tripling the debt. So, really, our concern is that we want smaller government.

We've not had one Republican president in 34 years balance the budget. You can't trust right-wing Republicans with your money. You ought to hire somebody who has balanced a budget. I'm much more conservative with money than George Bush is.

Republicans went off track. We were spending too much money.

Normally, when politicians talk about 'cutting the budget,' they really mean reducing the amount of increase. Actual spending goes up while the politicians claim to have 'cut the budget.'

Only in Washington do you hear a budget increase described as a cut.

Every debate in Washington is about how much to increase spending - a little or a lot.

In my political career, I'd like to see a constitutional balanced budget amendment.

Conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute have criticized Bush for his big increases in spending, which far exceed those of the Clinton era.

I am not one of those who believe that we are bound to vote supplies to cover a deficiency in the treasury whenever called on, without investigating the causes which occasioned it.

I believe the only measure of government response shouldn't be how much we spend on a situation, but rather how well we spend.

Sequestration is leverage that should not be given up easily.

I was able to promote a strong defense budget when it could have been cut a lot more severely.

When millions of Americans are tightening their belts, folks have the right to expect their elected officials to do the same.

While our nation faces many challenges that must be met regarding homeland security and our military readiness, it is imperative that we live within our means and wisely spend taxpayer dollars.

We laugh at liberals who declare that their favorite spending programs should be exempt because the spending is for a noble cause.

Now make no mistake, I think we need a strong dose of fiscal conservatism in Washington, D.C.

States, virtually all of them, have a constitutional requirement to operate on a balanced budget.

Well, I'm going to try to make a real difference in Washington's spending patterns.

I would also say Barack Obama has spent much, much, much, much more money than the Republicans.

Every Democrat on Capitol Hill professes to be a fiscal hawk.

There is no real justification for a requirement that a budget of any sort should be balanced, except as a rallying point for those who seek to hamstring government.

What I'm not saying is that all government spending is bad. It's not - far, far from it, but there is no free lunch, as a former colleague of mine used to say. There is no public tooth fairy. Father Christmas does not work on the Treasury staff this year. You can never bail someone out of trouble without putting someone else into trouble.

If you ask the question of Americans, should we pay our bills? One hundred percent would say yes. There's a significant misunderstanding on the debt ceiling. People think it's authorizing new spending. The debt ceiling doesn't authorize new spending; it allows us to pay obligations already incurred.