Sen. Reed and Whitehouse visit Portsmouth's Clements Market to talk about helping working families


Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed (D) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D) stopped by Clements, Portsmouth's local supermarket this afternoon to stress the importance of the payroll tax cut, unemployment extension, and other pending jobs legislation which has been blocked in congress.

Standing next to the store's general manager, Tracy Anthony, Reed praised Clements. "Tracy's doing her part," he said, urging his colleagues across the aisle to do the same, highlighting the provisions in the payroll tax bill that would add incentives for employers to add staff. "The whole key to getting our economy moving again is putting people back to work," adding that the bill was "Fiscally responsible as well as responsive to the employment situation."

Anthony said that the payroll tax cut would make a big difference to her employees, "They would have more money to do things they need to," and benefit the store as well, allowing them to offer more hours to part-timers and even consider adding staff.

Sen. Whitehouse agreed, and also noted the important of extending unemployment insurance, which had also been blocked. Without action, he said, "Its going to be a really bad Christmas for a lot of families."

But Whitehouse was hopeful that Republicans in Congress might see reason. "They know that they can't go home for Christmas having left regular working Americans in the lurch," he said, "And they haven't found an alternative that even their own team will support." He promised that he and Reed would continue fighting. "Sometimes it's like Jericho — you have to go around the city more than once before the walls come down."

Full disclosure: I'm an officer of the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee and a total supporter of legislation that will help working Americans.