No Subsidies Without Verification Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. NEAL. I thank the gen tle lady.
Madam Speaker, this vote has been portrayed as an opportunity for new spending. The difficulty with that argument is that this is really an argument about paying our bills and for debts incurred.
This vote tonight is a vote about paying for the war in Iraq, which I opposed, but still believe it has to be paid for.
The former majority leader of this House said at a critical moment that having a tax cut in a time of war was patriotic. You know what is patriotic? Paying for those veterans hospitals, whether you were for the war or against the war.
Those wars were put on the credit card. It is our responsibility to pay for them. That is what this debate is about tonight--not the opportunity for new expenditure and not a debate over social program spending in the future. It is simply a vote to pay for bills that have been currently incurred.
To have shut this government down was not only wrongful, but that decent people across this country were hurt by this irresponsible manner of conduct in this House remains reprehensible.
Tonight, we are going to have a chance to vote to reopen this government and repay our bills.
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