US Versus Them

Floor Speech

US VERSUS THEM -- (House of Representatives - November 03, 2005)

(Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. EMANUEL. Madam Speaker, an esteemed colleague recently said, it is much better to be us than to be them. He is probably right. It is better to be us than a middle-class family burdened with high energy costs, rising health care inflation and $8 trillion in national debt. It is probably better to be a Republican Member of Congress than a college student whose loans are about to be cut, or a child who has lost their health care because of a Republican Congress.

After years of reckless spending, the Republican Congress has left the Nation $3 trillion further in the hole.

But rather than going after corporate welfare, like the $16.5 billion handouts to oil and gas companies, this Congress is about to cut $50 billion from investments in middle-class families. They are eliminating nearly 40,000 children's nutritional programs. And while the average year of tuition at a State university is now $15,000 a year, the Republican Congress is cutting student loan programs by $14 billion. They are slashing $12 billion from Medicaid, affecting nearly 20,000 children currently covered by the program.

For what? So the Republican Congress can cut taxes for the wealthiest 1 percent. There is no question, it is better to be a Republican Member of Congress than a middle-class family.

Madam Speaker, the American people deserve better. We can do better. We need a new set of priorities, a change in the status quo.

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