Providing for Consideration of H. Con. Res. 34, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. CICILLINE. I thank the gentlewoman from New York.

I rise in opposition to this rule and against this budget. This Republican budget no longer honors our commitment to our seniors and doesn't reduce our deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that the Republican plan will add $8 trillion to the deficit over the next decade because the proposed cuts in spending are outpaced by gigantic tax cuts for the richest Americans.

You also can't say you care about seniors and then fight to enact policies that hurt seniors. Under their plan, they'll slash support for seniors in nursing homes while giving away tax breaks to companies that ship our jobs overseas.

And what else? American seniors will literally be paying more for their health care and getting less in order to finance additional tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, also reflected in this Republican budget.

A budget is more than just about dollars and cents. It's a statement of our values and our priorities as a Nation. This Republican budget does not reflect the values of our great Nation. My friends on the other side of the aisle would rather cut benefits to seniors than cut subsidies to big oil companies and big corporations that ship our jobs overseas.

They can quarrel with that argument, but these are the choices made in this budget. It ends Medicare as we know it. It slashes funding for nursing homes. It preserves tax cuts for the richest Americans and makes it even more generous. And it increases our debt. We have a responsibility to honor our commitment to our seniors. I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, if we can't protect our Greatest Generation and keep our promise to them, what is next?

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