Don Nickles: “it is with regret I urge my colleagues to not support our friends and colleagues on the other side. I will just take…”

“it is with regret I urge my colleagues to not support our friends and colleagues on the other side. I will just take issue with a few things that have been stated. First, I compliment Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus because they worked together earlier this year in a bipartisan way and we passed tax relief. It was done by a bipartisan vote in the Finance Committee, done by a bipartisan vote in the Senate, and by and large that bill became law. Senator Baucus and others alluded to the fact that we have already passed emergency legislation providing $40 billion to assist in the aftermath of the September 11 events. That was done in a bipartisan fashion. When we provided airline relief, that was done in a bipartisan fashion. Unfortunately, the bill we have before us, the so-called stimulus bill, has not been done in a bipartisan fashion. The makeup of the Senate is so balanced that it cannot happen. Democrats cannot pass a Democrat-only bill. The Republicans cannot pass a Republican-only bill. So we are going to have to work together. Regrettably, that has not yet happened. The result is in the bill that passed out of the Finance Committee, now modified by Senator Byrd's amendment, and modified by additional amendments made by the chairman or the Democratic leader, we have a bill that not only will not stimulate I think but may depress the economy. We have a bill that is not supported by both sides. We have a bill that obviously will not become law.”