Political Quotes

“I really appreciate your highlighting this question of unemployment because I really think that a whole lot of Americans would think we were more effective and that they would have more respect for Congress if we were dealing with the fact that we've got a 10-plus percent unemployment rate out there. And in fact that number is probably conservative because of the fact that if you haven't had a job in a year, you're no longer part of the statistic. So as people get more and more discouraged, don't get a job, they fall off those numbers, and we still have a 10 percent unemployment rate. So I think a lot of the public would say, Hey, why don't you guys pay attention to unemployment. Well, here's a way to pay attention to unemployment. We've got a bill here that, on the face of it, economists have rated it's going to cost 5 million jobs. Why in the world would this proposal cost 5 million jobs? Well, you just hit it. But do it again, gentleman, so people can make that connection. You have got to understand, this is going to increase unemployment in America. Is that what the public wants, more unemployment? I don't think so.”