Political Quotes

“I have been very patient while my dear friend, the junior Senator from Nevada, has talked about this. Here is the situation in which we find ourselves. Everyone knows we have an extenders package. I have a letter on my desk that has been spread on the Record previously--218 House Members have signed it--saying the House will not accept anything that is not paid for on the extenders. We have a letter that is now also a part of the Record, more than 400 companies, most of them Fortune 400 companies, say it is very important to pass the extenders legislation paid for. We also had a statement in The Hill newspaper yesterday, where the National Association of Manufacturers said: Why can't they pass this bill? It is very important to pass the extenders. It is the most important thing the manufacturers need in the country. We have a situation where there was an agreement made on this bill, the housing bill. The agreement was that they would be related to housing. With all due respect, everyone knows the matter relating to the extenders that my dear friend from Nevada talks about has--you have to stretch a lot to have it related to housing. Why would we want to send something to the House and have them send it back to us? We have a situation on the housing bill that Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus are going to take care of--the pay-fors. That is all part of the deal, and everyone knows that.”