Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I wish to speak to the proceedings that have just taken place this evening and try to put them in some context. What we have had before this Chamber is a bill that is very important to putting the American economy back on track. Lots of folks have looked at the various chokepoints in our economy, and so many have found that one of the critical issues is the access to lending by small businesses. That is a key provision in the bill before us--the ability to capitalize healthy community banks so they can make funds available to small businesses so small businesses can seize opportunities and put Americans back to work. There are many other terrific provisions in this small business jobs bill. They include, for example, a capital gains tax holiday that will assist small businesses. It includes a whole number of provisions, in fact, that stack up to $12 billion in tax reductions for small businesses. This bill came to this floor in a bipartisan way, with many provisions that were Republican provisions, some that were Democratic provisions, bipartisan support out of committee. It is before us now, and the question throughout this day has been this: Are the Republicans blocking this support for small businesses because they are opposed to helping small businesses and want to drive this economy back into a double-dip recession or do they have a legitimate concern that they should get a chance to offer amendments on the floor of the Senate?…”