Political Quotes

“When it comes to the multiemployer crisis, the most expensive and harmful thing the Congress can do is nothing. Over the course of 4 years and multiple hearings, including five hearings of a joint select committee, we have repeatedly heard the need to address this issue. We have also heard about process. Let me tell you about the process. We had 1 year of a select committee--no plan from the Republicans. This bill was introduced in January--no plan. We had a hearing in March--no plan. We had a markup in June--no plan or amendment until shortly before the markup occurred. Then, instead of seriously considering those amendments, they required us to read the whole bill. Mr. Speaker, we have a choice to make. Members of Congress can continue to wring our hands and listen to complaints while the catastrophe continues to unfold and unnecessarily adds hundreds of billions of dollars in costs to the Federal budget, or we can act on this bipartisan solution. The only bipartisan solution pending in Congress today is the Butch Lewis Act. This bill addresses the immediate crisis, protects hard- earned pensions, protects many businesses from bankruptcy, avoids misery, and saves the taxpayers money. In fact, according to the CBO, this bill, over 30 years, will cost less than $60 billion. Doing nothing over 30 years will cost $300 billion to over $400 billion. Mr. Speaker, I am voting for the solution.…”