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Rules Of The House

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 5, 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Taxes Health and Health Care

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Mr. PALLONE. Today's rules package reveals only one thing--and that is hypocrisy. Despite all the rhetoric about the deficit, the Republicans' first act in the majority will be to allow a legislative process that goes back to exploding our national debt. The Republicans' new plan will replace a strict pay-as-you-go policy with a much weaker one-sided policy known as cut-as-you-go, under which mandatory spending still needs to be paid for, but tax cuts do not. And this means that Republicans can cut taxes for the rich and increase the deficit while doing it.

But, Madam Speaker, it only gets worse. The Republicans know that the new health care reform bill reduces the deficit by a trillion dollars over the next two decades, and they've put a special exemption in their rule that says as long as we're repealing health care reform, we can increase the deficit.

Republicans will be judged on the promises they make to the American people. And so far they're already failing to live up to the standard that they've set for themselves.

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