Sander Levin Quotes

You eventually have to figure out how to balance the books. So that's the reason I gave up my day job to come do this was to go fight to create the space where spending matches America's capacity to tax, and that means economic growth and a smaller, humbler federal government.

Look, I'm very much in favor of tax cuts, but not with borrowed money. And the problem that we've gotten into in recent years is spending programs with borrowed money, tax cuts with borrowed money, and at the end of the day that proves disastrous. And my view is I don't think we can play subtle policy here.

Households and businesses cut expenses every day. Passing a financial down payment alongside the debt limit sends the right message to the public, and gives members of Congress greater comfort, or cover, depending on your perspective.

The President has a short time to let people know that he is serious about getting spending under control.

I think to balance the budget, probably every federal department has to take cuts in my opinion.

You know, even people who talk about cutting spending and they go 'That's not the spending that I was actually talking about that you're supposed to be cutting.' Well, we have to be looking across the board.

Of course we have to address the deficit if we win.

Memo to Congress: America's problem is not that government is too small. It's the spending, stupid!

I was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and one of the chief architects the last time we balanced a budget, and it was the first time we had done it since man walked on the moon. We had a $5 trillion surplus and we cut taxes.

Cutting budget deficits can never be just an exercise in economics.

The American people are tired of the out-of-control spending, and they want Washington to get their act in order and stop spending money we don't have.

If it took multiple debt ceiling hikes, I'd rather achieve the savings.

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.

I, for one, believe that revenue has to increase. I think every American would pay more if they thought spending was going to be cut and the budget brought to balance.

If you ask people do you think that government should spend less money than what it takes in, most people agree with that.

But the debt limit obviously is something that needs to and will be passed. That is not inconsistent with a process and a belief that we have to get significant deficit reduction.

If you could bring to me a majority of people to say that we're going to have $10 of spending cuts for $1 of revenue enhancement, put me in, coach.

Monetary discipline forces fiscal discipline on the politicians as well.

It is vital that we get these policies right as we take forward our plans to drive down the deficit and transform our economy.

Tonight, I come before you to announce that the federal deficit, once so incomprehensibly large that it had eleven zeroes, will be, simply zero.

Can the amazing national debt be paid by a little trifling sum squeezed from year to year out of America?.... Would it not be much superior wisdom, and sounder policy, for a distressed kingdom to retrench the vast unnecessary expenses continually incurred by its enormous vices?

The next president is going to be faced with the prospect of realigning our national security interests with our resources—–and for God's sake, getting some certainty into the budget process so we can actually plan.... Instead, we tend to look at things one year at a time.

Honest people can disagree on policy. But where there can be no honest disagreement is the need to change our nation's debt course.

The Spending Control Act. It would recreate President Reagan's grace commission to have a bipartisan commission on how we reduce spending.

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.