Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE -- (House of Representatives - November 17, 2005)
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Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for the gallant fight that he has put up all year on these issues as well.
Let us, me, say something tonight that we ought to start this debate with. For everybody who is watching, for the Members that are here in this Chamber, as you listen to this debate, these are the people who began the year with what we all thought to be the worst idea of this Congress, and that was the argument to privatize Social Security.
Now that is the context in which we have moved to the next round of their proposals. Nobody who is watching should kid themselves tonight. This is about a tax cut for the wealthy, dividend and capital gains. I defy anybody on the other side to challenge the following statement: Half of this proposal tonight with tax reconciliation included, half of the dividend and capital gains cuts will go to people who make more than $1 million a year.
Now, we brought that up the other night at the Ways and Means Committee. That was not a fact that was challenged. That was accepted as part of the debate. So we are going to talk about dividends and capital gains cuts at this moment, and then I want to draw attention to those 148,000 men and women in Iraq who serve us with honor and distinction every single day.
You know what their reward was? Two months ago, the Humvees arrived. The body armor is starting to arrive. But you know what? Only in this Congress, with this Republican leadership, could they declare there is a crisis in Social Security after they have ripped $1.3 trillion out of the budget. The answer to not having Humvees, not having body armor: let us have another capital gains cut; let us have a dividend cut.
The title of this Congress is, we are rich and we are not going to take it anymore. Everything we do here is for the strongest, most powerful.
I asked the other night at the committee, does anybody ever read the gospel of Matthew? To clothe the naked, to feed the poor and to provide dividends and capital gains relief to the rich? Because that is where we are going with this debate.
This is about what is happening to the middle class tonight. They are going to cut student loan opportunities. The Senate is going to cut Medicare. Medicaid comes up before you know it. All of this is being done so they can shoe-horn a rigid, intransigent ideology.
There is no flexibility with the modern Republican Party. Everything they do is to satisfy a constituent group in America called the wealthy. Every step they take is to reinforce the separation of class along budgetary lines.
Vote down this proposal tonight and stand up for those men and women in Iraq and get them the equipment that they need.
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