On the recordMarch 17, 2010
I rise in support of the legislation before us and the motion to waive the point of order. This is a good day for American workers, for Congress is focusing on what they have asked us to focus on. Congress is focusing on what the American people want us to focus on, which is jobs, jobs, jobs, and Congress will act in a bipartisan way. So this is a break, in several ways, from the past. One, we are focusing on jobs and the economy. That is what we should be doing. Second, we are doing it in a bipartisan way. The bill before us focuses on private sector jobs. It has four pieces. Each is lean. Each is directed at private sector jobs. Each will give the economy a certain lift. Last quarter, we had growth of 5.9 percent. That sounds great, but that 5.9 percent growth resulted in no new jobs being created. In fact, it resulted in a continued loss of jobs, admittedly less of a loss than in the past. Our job is to take that growth and translate it into jobs for the American people, plain and simple, and that is what we are doing with this HIRE Act.
