On the recordDecember 12, 2012
the clock continues to tick away while we wait for the descent from the summit, when the President and Speaker Boehner walk out, with tablets in hand, saying we have a deal. Many of us are beginning to wonder if that is going to be achievable. We are holding our breath. But as we near the end of the year, clearly as has been stated repeatedly on the floor, the necessity of putting something together to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, the disastrous consequences of our not acting, is clear. Tax increases for every American taxpayer, massive cuts to defense at a time when the threats around the world are as varied and as great as we have seen in a long time, other essential programs of the Federal Government being affected by that--that is the last thing we need. In this tepid economy with a lot of people out of work we are hoping for some consensus to come together to provide a long-term solution to our fiscal problem that continues to have a negative effect on our economy and, more importantly, keeps people out of work. As that clock ticks, some are saying partisanship is too great in Washington; the country is too divided; we are not going to be able to reach a consensus here in terms of how to address this problem. I disagree with that. Over the last 2 years and more, we have had a number of proposals brought forward on a bipartisan basis.…
