Political Quotes

“I think this has been a good, thoughtful, and lively debate because I think we've been able to show each other, through you, Mr. Speaker, the fact that the House did its work. House Republicans put forward a proposal to extend unemployment benefits for a full year, and we paid for it. We put forward a proposal to give working middle class taxpayers a reduction in the amount they pay into Social Security, but we backfilled that money so that Social Security's trust fund was not depleted. And we said to our physicians out there who take care of our seniors that they would have certainty and not face a 27.4 percent cut in their reimbursement rates under Medicare and that they would have that certainty for 2 full years. So the facts are clear what the House passed. We also included in this legislation to try and drive new job creation in the high-tech sector by auctioning off spectrum that would generate $16.7 billion and upwards of 700,000 jobs. That's a high-end number, but let's say it's half that. There are estimates all over the place. But a few hundred thousand jobs would be a really great thing, especially in technology and innovation and everything that would come from that. That's in this bill. What we got back from the Senate was 2 months--2 months--2 months-- and a failure to even come to the table. So the Republican conferees from the House have been willing to meet anytime, anywhere.…”