OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Government Shutdown

Floor Speech

Date: April 6, 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income Entitlements and the Safety Net Government Budget and Spending

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, we are 1 day closer to a government shutdown, and the Republican leadership continues their obstinate crusade against everyday Americans.

If their insistence on draconian cuts and their blind allegiance to a government shutdown weren't bad enough, their 2012 budget decimates SNAP and Medicaid, food and health care assistance programs for the most vulnerable people in America.

Republicans continue their efforts to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, and we must not stand for that.

But Americans from all walks of life are saying enough. Over 23,000 people--members of churches, mosques, and synagogues; union members and white collar workers; clergy and lay people--are fasting in opposition to the draconian Republican budget cuts.

Democrats stand with those fasting in opposition to cuts to programs that make up the circle of protection, the programs that protect the hungry and the most vulnerable both here at home and around the world. We can and we should and we must do better.

I urge my Republican colleagues, stop your assault on the poor. Stop your assault against the poor.

You could read more about their efforts at www.hungerfast.org.


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