Eleanor Holmes Norton: “One has to congratulate the other side for chutzpah. After racking up most of what is now the deficit, they have gotten…”

“One has to congratulate the other side for chutzpah. After racking up most of what is now the deficit, they have gotten religion on the deficit in the middle of a recession. When conservative and progressive economists say when the only body that has any money is the government, you better spend it for jobs. I wonder if in this House we would at least do what they did in the other body yesterday, when five Republicans crossed over to actually be for a modest jobs bill. It certainly is not the bill that I would have wanted, but what is noteworthy is that the majority of Republicans actually voted against the jobs bill yesterday that spent only $15 billion. Were you afraid that that would contribute to the deficit? How much are you willing to help the American people get out of the deficit that you left us and get out of the economic morass that you have bequeathed us? One begins to wonder if we could even get unemployment insurance passed. We have sent over a bill to the other body which is far larger. Let's hope that we can get more such bills passed.”