Neal Katyal Quotes

We must cut federal spending - every wasted dollar, every low priority program, and every unconstitutional overreach - every day.

You can't have it both ways. You can't tell me that you're taxed enough already, and that you want constitutional government and then in the next breath say, 'Bring me home some bacon.' The pig has been picked clean.

Putting the budget ahead of the policy is the wrong way to do it. It's too often the way it's done in Washington.

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.

We're going to have to control the spending of government.

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.

We can't have deficit spending in Texas. You have to balance your budget every two years.

When you have a country that's been accustomed to government spending at a certain level, it is really hard to ratchet it back.

We have revenue coming in. We can pay our interest payments. And then we can prioritize what government programs that have been given to the American people that are unsustainable promises that have been made by reckless politicians that can't possibly be sustained. We can determine which one of those if any we need to keep.

If we had decided on January 5, in the new House of Representatives, to make no new spending bills, the debt ceiling would've still been hit, because, those are bills that are coming in as a result of purchases and commitments made by the administration and the previous Congress.

Monetary discipline forces fiscal discipline on the politicians as well.

And, Mr. Speaker, if the Governor and Council don't see fit to fall in with us, I say let the general duty law, and all, go to the devil, sir, and go about our business.

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.'

Conservatives should insist that defense spending be examined with the same seriousness that we demand in examining the books of those government agencies that spend taxpayer money in the name of welfare, the environment, or education.

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.

Governments harangue about deficits to get more revenue so they can spend more.

Those who make the most and loudest speeches about deficit reduction are least likely to vote against spending.

Every dime spent is a political decision made.

Politicians have a natural inclination to spend in general, even as they disagree fiercely about what, specifically, to spend on.

How can one govern without taxes, without strength, without authority?

The reason we vote on the debt ceiling is to pay for past spending. It has nothing to do with what we are going to spend. What you are really saying is “I’m sorry, I am so mad that I don’t want to pay my past debts.”

We need to focus on issues where we all agree, which is spending discipline and control and making sure that government, both in Springfield and in Washington, doesn't take more from your family budget.

I've made a commitment that any tax increase, I'm going to veto. It's the worst thing we could do. We have an amount of money to spend. That's it.