Political Quotes

“Democrats and Republicans hold a different view on many issues. But the bipartisan work by Senators Stabenow and Roberts on the agriculture jobs bill demonstrates, despite our differences, we can still find common ground. I hope their cooperative spirit guides our work on this important legislation this week. American farmers are counting on us, and so is the economy. Despite the uncertain economic times, America's farms are the most productive in the world, exporting $136 billion worth of products last year and supporting 16 million private sector jobs. But to keep American farms strong, Congress must pass a strong farm bill. This legislation creates jobs, cuts subsidies, and reduces the deficit. The bill includes important reforms to farm and food stamp programs. It saves $23 billion, which will be used to reduce the deficit. And it will give farmers the certainty they need to maintain the largest trade surplus of any sector of our economy. Helping American farmers thrive is an important part of our work to get the economy on a firm footing again. I commend Senators Stabenow and Roberts for their leadership on this issue. We are working now to come up with a list of amendments on this legislation. It is a shame we are now wasting 30 hours postcloture on this bill. It is a bill that passed by 90 Senators agreeing that we should move forward to debate.…”