On the recordDecember 14, 2010
Madam President, I rise today to say I think the President of the United States and our Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, have done a great job. As I hear the talking heads and the pundits and others talk about this compromise, this way forward, I am sure of it because no one is completely happy with it. People who think we should have a death tax are not happy with this bill. People who think, as I do, the unemployment provision goes too far, is not paid for and should have been are on the other side. But we are now faced with a choice. Are we going to allow the taxes for every single individual in our country who pays taxes to go up on January 1? We could talk all day about how we should have addressed this much earlier. Yes, that is true. But we are where we are. It is now mid-December, and it is long past time when we should have told the American people--every family, every business in this country--what the tax policy is going to be for 2 years. I come here with a business background. I wish more of my colleagues had real business experience because sometimes when I hear the academics and the talking heads talk about what we ought to do--some say: Let's just wait. We can do this better next year. Are you kidding me? Have you ever been in the real world trying to make a decision about whether you can add one more piece of machinery to your factory floor and hire people to run it?…





