Political Quotes

“I appreciate that. I have a question. First of all, unemployment benefits in Montana are about $300 a month. That is all. It is $300 a month in Montana. I know doggone well that is not enough to keep anybody going very long. Lots of folks are looking for jobs, and they are not available. Failure to pass the extenders bill could be fairly stated as a job destroyer because there are so many people who have taken advantage of many provisions of the bill--for example, the R&D tax credit, which the Senator mentioned, and there are other provisions in the bill, such as the teachers expense, for example, and there is a deduction for tuition. Take unemployment. Say unemployment insurance was not continued. That would be a huge drag on the economy. If the provisions we are seeking merely to extend were not passed, it would be a job destroyer. The President's office said, and many commentators have often said, our goal is to save or create so many jobs. It is hard to know what is saved or created sometimes. But we certainly want to save jobs too. We don't want the recession to be worse. Failure to pass this legislation is certainly going to cause tremendous hardship on a lot of Americans, and it would be a disincentive for the economy to turn around. It would be a disincentive for unemployment rates to come down to a lower level that we all find acceptable. Failure to pass this bill is a jobs destroyer. I yield the floor.”