Political Quotes

“I first give thanks to my colleague and friend from Ohio. We have been working together on this issue. Michigan and Ohio are part of the epicenter as we have seen the downturn in the economy since 2000. We have seen 3 million manufacturing jobs--middle-class jobs that created the standard of living in this country--that have been lost. This amendment addresses those companies that have done the right thing, that have paid good wages, provided health insurance, provided pensions, that now find themselves in a challenging time but that we want to continue to support so they can continue to keep great American jobs in this country. I am so pleased we are joined by others in a truly bipartisan effort. We have four Democrats and four Republicans cosponsoring the amendment. We have Senators Hatch, Rockefeller, Cantwell, Vitter, Levin, and Smith coming together from all parts of the country, representing important American industries that are asking to be recognized and to basically allow them to use the AMT and R&D credits they have already accumulated. They have made investments and we want them to make more, and we want to create a mechanism that allows them to benefit from the mechanisms we are putting into place to support industries that need assistance in this difficult time and need to be ready to come out of this economic downturn as quickly as possible. There is no question that we are in a housing and economic crisis in America.”