Scottsdale, Ariz. – Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ), member of the House Financial Services Committee, went on Fox News’ Happening Now to discuss the failure of the Supercommittee and what can be done now. Here is the video and excerpts from the interview:

ON WHY CONGRESS CAN’T GET THINGS DONE

“If you spend a little time there, you start to realize Congress seems to breaking into camps, and the camps aren’t necessarily conservative or liberal. It’s those that do math and those that don’t. And I’m realizing right now a lot of our brothers and sisters on the other side of the aisle don’t own calculators.”

ON THE NEED TO DEAL WITH ENTITLEMENTS AFTER SUPERCOMMITTEE FAILURE

“We are becoming a country that is, basically, a health insurer with a shrinking army. Medicare is consuming us as a people.”

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“We can save Medicare. We can save these programs, but you have to do something that puts market forces into them. You have to understand, Democrats changed Medicare as you and I know it a couple years ago when they did the healthcare takeover law. It is going to look very different. It’s moving into a rationing model, but it still consumes every dollar of the federal government.”

ON THE LACK OF BIPARTISANSHIP

“Very simple. How do you have a spirit of bipartisanship if you’re going to have one side that won’t do real math? At the end of this decade, almost all federal spending is in the mandatory category. It consumes everything we are. Yet, when was the last time you saw a Democrat politician, someone on the Left, get up in front of their own constituents and tell them the truth and tell them that?”

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