Political Quotes

“Let me thank my colleague for yielding. As I was attempting to eat my lunch, I heard my name invoked more than once about what I did and what I didn't do. I just want all of my colleagues to know that the President asked us to extend the payroll tax credit for a year, asked us to extend unemployment benefits, and asked us to extend the current payment schedule for doctors who treat Medicare patients. My colleagues and I, on a bipartisan basis, last week passed such a bill, the same kind of bill that was requested by the minority leader, the minority whip, and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. This bill is going to cost about $200 billion. We found a reasonable offset to make sure that we were taking care of the Social Security trust fund and not depleting it unnecessarily. As I said, the bill passed the House with a bipartisan vote. Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side of the Capitol decided to do what happens around here all too often: it's too hard to figure it out. We're getting close to Christmas. We're going to leave. We're going to punt. And we're going to send a 2-month bill over. My colleague from New York was arguing for what's basically a $1,000 tax cut for the average American family. And I'm here to say to my colleague, that's exactly what we're fighting for. As I see the debate today, you are arguing for a $166 tax cut because it's only for 2 months.…”