On the recordDecember 12, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Hoyer is right. This agreement does not address the comprehensive issues that we need to address. We need to address those in a balanced way, and that means working on both additional, smart, targeted spending cuts, but also closing special interest tax breaks. But what this agreement does do is make sure that, in the next several weeks, we do not move to a full sequester, very deep across- the-board cuts, which will hurt the economy. Instead, it provides more room to invest in vital areas like education and research. That is a positive note. That is a positive bipartisan note. I do want to say, Mr. Speaker, however, and this is not as a result of anything the chairman of the Budget Committee does, there is also a sour note in leaving here without having addressed the unemployment insurance. This agreement didn't include the doc-fix, and it didn't include unemployment insurance. We should be dealing with both those issues together. We are only dealing with one of them now. So I hope, as we go forward, we will address those issues; and we should not leave town until we address the unemployment issue. But let's, at the same time, take this small positive step forward. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Wisconsin has 5\1/2\ minutes remaining.
