Paul Tonko: “Absolutely. And I loved the converting of tax policy into a job focus. My question rhetorically to the opposition party…”

“Absolutely. And I loved the converting of tax policy into a job focus. My question rhetorically to the opposition party has been the marketing of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts was all around jobs. These are the job-creating tax cuts. My rhetorical question is: Where are the jobs? We saw one of the most dismal stretches of job loss and job creation under that Bush Presidency than ever recorded in the Nation. And to Representative Shea-Porter's point, left with an historic largest deficit. So that was complications beyond belief, a multitude of problems that then endured and gripped the household budgets and the profitability of small businesses across this country to the point that we sunk to the lowest of records in March of 2009. So now our focus rightfully should be about job creation and retention. My district, the 21st Congressional District in the State of New York, houses the eastern portion of the original Erie Canal, barge canal. It gave birth to a necklace of communities called mill towns. These mill towns became the epicenters of invention and innovation. I cannot accept for a moment that our manufacturing heyday is a thing of the past. We can be the kingpins of manufacturing. We need to invest in that manufacturing element so that small businesses and manufacturing centers can be that driving force for job creation and retention.”