Political Quotes

“Madam President, let me add a few words to what Senator Brown said. Think of what is happening here, what happened in the last couple minutes. We had three unanimous-consent requests. The first one I offered was an 18-month extension of trade adjustment assistance. What are we talking about? Trade adjustment assistance is basic to people's lives when they lose a job. Over the years it has had a lot of support from both parties. It is about training, income support, reemployment so people can get from joblessness through no fault of their own to a job. It is a very basic program. It works well. The evidence is clear. I asked for an 18-month extension. That was objected to. Then we tried again. The next consent request I offered was a 4\1/2\ month extension. Just as we were leaving here in December, Senator Brown and I worked out an agreement with two Members of the Republican side, two Members who said: Let's extend it for a short period, a much shorter period than I wanted and a much shorter period than Senator Brown wanted, but we got an extension. That is what we are asking for here, helping people in the midst of what is still a very tough economy, almost 14 million people out of work, 13.9 according to the last number. That is what we are talking about, not some fuzzy theoretical program. This is a program we know works. It is a program that helps people get from here to there, from joblessness to a job, and provides some training and skills.…”