Bill Nelson: “before the No. 2 Democrat retires from the Chamber, I want to congratulate him. He is a tireless worker. He is the…”

“before the No. 2 Democrat retires from the Chamber, I want to congratulate him. He is a tireless worker. He is the consummate consensus builder. He is someone who in the midst of chaos and fracas calms the waters with the soothing balm that gets reasonable people to suddenly understand they can come together. This agreement on the budget resolution, which contains the enforcement provisions of the Budget Act, is another testimony to his skill in negotiating, as he does so ably, with the Chairman and the ranking Members. So I am delighted. It is fitting this agreement on a budget enforcement provision has been agreed to, because of the condition of our economy. The stock market today has gone down another 220 points. Stocks stumbled, slamming the brakes on any kind of rally we might have thought was occurring over the last few days. Sales outlook was weak, there were disappointing earnings, and it has brought profit jitters back into the market. Is it any wonder investors, large investors such as pension funds or small investors such as the Presiding Officer and myself, with our own little hard-earned savings that we invest in the stock market, all across this land, indeed, have jitters because of the uncertainty of the economy? As a matter of fact, in the last 2 years, stock market wealth has been down 35 percent for a $5.7 trillion loss in that 2 years.”