Roy Blunt: “I join with my good friend from South Dakota and the comments he made about the disadvantage we have created for…”

“I join with my good friend from South Dakota and the comments he made about the disadvantage we have created for ourselves in the last 3 years by not moving forward with these trade agreements long ago. But we are going to move forward today. Jump-starting America's economy is going to require bipartisanship. If we are going to compete in a global economy, it means we are all going to have to work together to help create economic opportunities for Americans who are looking for work, help to create those private sector jobs that are the difference in a prosperous economy and an economy that is struggling. Last night the motion to open debate on the President's so-called jobs bill was amended by his own party and was defeated then by a bipartisan vote in the Senate. That is not the kind of bipartisanship we need. We need bipartisanship moving forward not bipartisanship walking away. The bill was defeated because it does not make economic sense--as the President said in August of 2009--to raise taxes on job creators. In fact, the administration, by its own accounting, said roughly 80 percent of the people who would be impacted by the surtax imposed by the bill that was set aside last night would be defined as businesses, the very businesses that need to create jobs in an economy where that should be the No. 1 priority. The President's first $800 billion stimulus plan failed to stimulate.…”