On the recordFebruary 17, 2012
I yield myself the balance of my time. I think this has been a healthy discussion, and I think all of us respect very much the positions that have been put forth. I think we need to look at where we came from. The main bill before the conference committee was the bill that passed on a partisan basis here in December. It essentially would have countermanded the effort at continued economic growth through the payroll tax bill. It would have required very inimical pay-fors. It would have threatened the pay of 160 million people. That bill also would have drastically cut unemployment insurance. Cutting unemployment insurance is not reform. It is not reform. People have worked for it. These are people looking for work who can't find it. We have worked so hard--so hard--to defend and to preserve the lifeline of unemployment insurance as best we could; and essentially it does preserve it in major ways through the rest of this year. For seniors, we have made sure that health care and their physicians are available. With respect to differing points of view, I strongly urge support for this conference committee report. It is said it isn't perfect, and it is often said no bill is perfect; but we have worked to preserve the basic ingredients to promote economic growth and to preserve the unemployment insurance so critical for the unemployed of this country. I yield back the balance of my time.
