Political Quotes

“we are here today in the midst of another filibuster in which the FAA reauthorization bill is before us, but we have to wait for a cloture vote and we have to wait many, many days past, I think, what was appropriate. But it does give us an opportunity to talk about the issue that is of most concern to Americans at this moment; that is, the economy. We have an economy that is heading, unfortunately, toward recession. Some economists have already declared it here. Over the last few months, I have spoken about the situation and particularly, I say to the Presiding Officer, in our home State of Rhode Island where, as we go about, we are stopped constantly by our constituents, our neighbors, our friends who, quite rightly, complain about the current economic situation. The Senator from Illinois was very accurate and very insightful when he noted that the incomes of most Americans have not risen over the last decade or more and that these individuals--and we are not talking about low-income Americans, entry-level workers; we are talking about going way up close to $100,000 or more--they have seen no real income growth. But what they have seen is accelerating prices. Now, for several years, they thought they would be buttressed against these accelerating prices and slow income growth by the value of their homes. But, as we know now, we are seeing a huge recession in the real estate market. The values of homes are beginning to fall.”