Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I begin by thanking my colleagues, many of whom served in the last Congress. I thank them for extending the payroll tax cut at that time, providing a payroll tax cut from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. I thank them on behalf of myself. I was not a Member of this body at that time. I thank them on behalf of the American people. They are due that thanks and appreciation for that vision and courage in extending that measure in cutting the payroll tax so as to lessen the recession. We have only to listen to the virtually unanimous opinion of economists to the effect that we saved the Nation, this body saved the Nation from a deeper recession. Now I ask my colleagues to undertake a similar mission, to accomplish the same goal, to once again save the Nation from a deeper recession. The recovery of this Nation's economy has been fragile and slow. Many economists--notably, Mark Zandi, who has been quoted by my distinguished colleague from Pennsylvania--say that a failure to extend it will mean a new recession. We are talking about average Americans, ordinary people who are hurting and struggling. They are hurting economically and struggling to find jobs. They are struggling to stay in their homes and keep their families together at a time of year when joy and satisfaction ought to be the quality of their lives. They deserve this measure of peace of mind, as my colleague from Pennsylvania, Bob Casey, has referred to it.…”