Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague from New York for yielding me this time. Ladies and gentlemen of America, this is not a mirage. We are actually here in this building, the U.S. Capitol. America, your Congress is in session and we're here to work, yet my Republican colleagues refuse to bring up the middle class tax cut bill that is right behind me at this desk. My colleague from Texas can continue to talk about what happened in August of this year--staging votes for the election that took place. And we know the results of that election. What our constituents are concerned about is what happens in January if and when we fail to do our work here, now, and also to expose that the vote that took place in August was a vote to continue the Bush-era tax cuts, the very same tax cuts that got us into the mess we're in right now. They're doing that because they're holding hostage the 98 percent of Americans who will receive a tax cut under Mr. Walz's bill that's at the desk today. And they're holding them hostage to make sure that the wealthiest 2 percent continue to get that tax cut. Our economy is 70 percent consumer-driven. That means when the middle class spends more, we all benefit. When the opposite takes place, when they spend less, we all are worse off for it. Holding the middle class hostage by threatening to raise their taxes not only hurts the American families, but it also hurts America's businesses. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.”