What they've done is thoughtful, analytically sound and numerically cautious ... but they haven't put in the huge caveat about the range of uncertainty, ... It's so large that we can't know if the problem is twice as great or a quarter as great as what they're saying.

277

While some people are talking about $200 billion, a number like $100 [billion] to perhaps $150 billion might be a better guess as to what's really needed.

268

It's hard to sort of have a new commitment for research on alternative fuels when the resources devoted to these projects shrink year after year.

244

The tax cut is bigger than anything, by a fairly long shot.

190

The administration's forthcoming budget is expected to have approximately $200 billion in missing costs in the fifth year, ... Once these missing costs are taken into account, the deficit is seen as being in the range of $500 billion in 2009, or around 3.5 percent of GDP. That is not close to cutting the deficit in half.

185

If I were a Republican, I would be scratching my head and saying I had just voted for a bill that would ultimately cost far more than the war.

159

There was a consensus for more spending for the military; it was just a question of how much. You could say the President got more [extra spending] in part because of the political climate after Sept. 11, but [that's] speculative...

139