Political Quotes

“I came to Washington this week with plans to vote for a bipartisan farm bill, a good bill that came out of committee. Lo and behold, I read that the Democrat leadership demanded that the Ways and Means Committee come up with a tax increase to pay for expansions beyond for food stamps and other programs. Well, look what they brought to the floor: a tax increase on foreign-owned U.S. manufacturers, foreign-owned U.S. companies that are creating jobs in our districts. Mitsubishi's North America plant is in my district. BASF, Pinkerton. And you know what is interesting is there are 235,000 jobs in Illinois, my State, that are generated by foreign-owned companies. And you know what? The Ways and Means Committee abdicated its responsibilities on this provision. No hearings were held. No markup was held. No one knows the consequences of this tax increase. That is why this rule needs to be voted down. It is one thing if you say there is a loophole that needs to be changed, but I am amazed that members of my own committee are coming to this floor defending a provision where they don't know the answers on whether or not it is going to cost jobs in our districts. Vote this rule down.”