Political Quotes

“consistent with my policy of publishing in the Record a statement whenever I place a hold on legislation, I am announcing my intention to object to any unanimous consent request on S. 1896, the Tax Relief Extension Act, and to H.R. 1664, the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act. I am doing so because these bills are the only relevant amendable legislation expected to be taken up in the Senate before the end of the current session and, therefore, they provide the only opportunity to extend unemployment benefits before they expire at the end of the year. Oregon currently has the highest unemployment rate in the Nation with an unemployment rate of 8 percent. Extension of unemployment benefits is critical for many Oregonians who are in jeopardy of running out of benefits if they are not extended before the end of the year. In order to ensure unemployed workers in Oregon and many other states will not be left without benefits, I am objecting to unanimous consent on S. 1896 or H.R. 1664, unless extension of unemployment benefits and reform of a lookback rule that affects Oregon and other high unemployment states is included as part of the legislation.”