Mitch Landrieu: “Unlike some of the leaders who just write these employers letters and tell them what a good job they do, I want these…”

“Unlike some of the leaders who just write these employers letters and tell them what a good job they do, I want these employers--Conoco and Chevron and Alcoa and All About Music and Allianz Life Insurance Company and American Electric Power, American Express, the American Stock Exchange, and I could go on and on, 250 Central, 3M--there are pages of them--I want to tell them all that there are a few Senators, some Republicans and some Democrats, who are going to do more than send you a letter. We would like to send you a tax credit and we think you deserve it. You didn't really ask for it. We understand that because you are digging deep. But we are going to give tax credits out to everybody in the world, it looks like, because we have ceiling fan importers and NASCAR race investors; we have shipbuilders--many of which are in my State and they know I support them--but we can't find a tax credit to help these companies that are sending paychecks for the front line to keep our soldiers prepared to fight and defend our country when really it is the Federal Government's responsibility. If they said we didn't have the money, I would just sit down and say we just don't have it. We are running a deficit. We can't afford it.…”