On the recordSeptember 8, 2016
I have trouble comprehending my friend the Republican leader--how he can, with a straight face, talk about how terrible America is today. Things are upside down; it is terrible. Remember, Obama was elected President almost 8 years ago. That month, under the prior administration, for lots of reasons we have all talked about, our country lost 800,000 jobs in one month. That wasn't the only month. Our unemployment rate shot up in places like the Presiding Officer's and my State to more than 14 percent. Unemployment in America was raging. Major companies failed. I saw the Secretary of Treasury on his knees in the White House begging the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, for help. We joined together with President Bush. There was nothing partisan about what we did. Even though there were some small steps, we did our best to help the country. Since then, under the last 8 years of President Obama's leadership, the country has been significantly turned in the right direction. For my friend the Republican leader to parrot what Donald Trump is saying: ``Make America great again''--America is great right now. Unemployment is less than 5 percent. Millions of jobs have been created in this administration--millions and millions of jobs--about 16 million. We have no ground troops, except in Afghanistan. They have been brought home, and rightfully so.…





