On the recordMarch 3, 2011
I want to thank all my colleagues for coming to the floor today to defend the middle class of this country. We all believe--and I think both Democrats and Republicans, it's been evident here today, all believe-- that the 1099 provisions need to be repealed. We recognize that. We, too, want to help small business. We recognize that small business is the backbone of employment opportunity in our country. And that effort has been bipartisan, it has been bipartisan in the Senate, but not here. It's because we don't like the pay-for provision that my Republican colleagues are proposing and putting forward in this legislation because we believe that they switch the burden from the small business man and woman and they place it on the backs of the working class in this country. We want to work in a bipartisan way. We believe we can work together and come up with a solution. Now I have to be honest, no one on the other side has asked me for a compromise solution, it hasn't happened.
