Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to close as I opened. I said at the outset that we've been getting some tremendous, what I would call tremendously positive numbers for our economy in the past several months, and I believe the American people are beginning to create more certainty in their lives. {time} 1520 I would hate to see us disrupt that by continuing to debate this issue when we know full well that our failure to pass this bill will almost guarantee that 160 million working Americans will see their taxes go up and their paychecks go down. There are 2.2 million people who are currently unemployed through no fault of their own, who are looking for work and who would like to contribute to the deficit reduction that we are trying to gain, but we will see them continuing in the unemployment status, without their benefit, if we fail to pass this bill. Also, the 48 million seniors who have developed relationships with their doctors, who during this time of year depend upon the medical profession for their quality of life, could very well see their doctors experience a 27 percent decrease in their reimbursements if we fail to pass this bill. We know what will happen. These doctors will walk off the field and will refuse to treat Medicare patients. I would hope that my friends would come to their senses and pass the Senate-passed compromise. With that, I yield back the balance of my time. General Leave”