Sessions: “We Must Live Within Our Means.”
Excerpts from Chairman Sessions’ Appearance on ‘Meet the Press’
Washington, D.C. – National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning. Included below are excerpts from the interview.
On Taking Back the Majority…
“I think our candidates are going to take us from good to great to victory. And I think Republicans can win in November.”
On the Democrats’ Agenda…
“I think the public sees this as a long-term debt issue of big government, more spending…And the bottom line is that people back home see it where government is doing quite well and the free enterprise system and jobs back home are not doing so well. I think change is in the air.”
“Today it’s about empowering government, and that is a mistake.”
On the Political Environment…
“There will be candidates who will be on the ballot back home facing the Democrats who have voted in the 90-percent realm with Nancy Pelosi to raise taxes and [implement] bigger government and a healthcare plan which we cannot sustain and will quite likely bankrupt not only states but business also.”
“First of all, [Republican candidates are] going to run against the person who’s on the ballot with them, and that person has voted for more spending and big taxes and more of an agenda that’s about empowering Washington, D.C. and not back home. They are going to say we should read the bills before we vote on them. We should make sure we live within our means. And perhaps most of all, get behind an agenda where the American people are, which began for us one year ago in August when Republicans would attend town hall meetings and hear about healthcare and Democrats fled.”
On the Issues….
“We must live within our own means. We cannot spend what we don’t have and we must be able to sustain what we’re doing.”
“It’s quite simple that the American people do understand the agendas that are before us. They understand what the President, the Speaker stand for, and they understand what Republicans stand for.”
“We need to live within our own means. And certainly the projections that are ahead, including healthcare and the projections for unemployment for a long time and debt for as far as we can see is staggering.”
“We need to make sure that we read the bills. These bills are so bad, [and it’s] why we don’t have a budget that is being looked at. Now the 2011 budget is staggering in terms of taxes and the discipline that is lacking from this House Democratic leadership to even debate and bring the bill for the budget and appropriations is a lack of leadership.”
The full episode can be seen online here this afternoon.