Becerra On Republican Budget Proposal: "So Much For The American Dream For The American People"

Statement

Today the majority party in the House of Representatives voted to pass legislation (H.R. 2560) that would threaten to plunge our economy back into a deep recession. Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, voted against the bill and made the following remarks on the floor of the House:

"Once again, the public is way ahead of the politicians. By nearly three to one, Americans reject this Republican budget scheme.

In fact, nearly 70 percent of Americans disapprove of how Republicans are handling this deficit and default crisis. Even 51 percent of Americans who are registered Republicans disapprove of how Congressional Republicans are handling these negotiations. And by wide margins, Americans have sent a very clear signal to us in Congress here: do not cut Medicare. Do not cut Medicare, I repeat again, to pay for deficits that were caused by the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy and two unpaid-for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today, millions of Americans are living through tight budgets. As they sit at the kitchen table, they don't have the luxury of walking away from the tough choices as some in Congress have done. They know that they must balance today the needs that they have with the investments of tomorrow. That's why Americans would see straight through this cut and paste budget scheme.

Under this budget scheme if an American family wanted to buy a house, guess what, you better have cash to pay for it because you cannot borrow if you have to live under this budget scheme. No mortgages.

If you want to send your child to college, you better have every single cent you need to send your child to college today to pay for the full cost of that tuition. No student loans, because you could not borrow.

So much for the American Dream for the American people.

Two hundred days into this congress and not one bill yet from this House enacted to put Americans back to work, and this proposal would eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs almost immediately.

How are we going to get past the next fourteen days if today on this floor we're debating a bill that we know will not pass in the Senate, that the President has said he would veto. And in fourteen short days it's not an issue of paying our bills, it's a matter of watching the interest rate on people's mortgages skyrocket. It's a matter of watching the value of the dollar plummet. It's a matter of watching people's retirement accounts in their 401(k) or IRA all of a sudden drop simply because people here in the House of Representatives decided to play politics. That's what this is about.

That's why once again the public is way ahead of the politicians. Let's get to work. Let's stop leaving the negotiating table. Let's get this done. The President is willing to go with a balanced approach. This gets us nowhere. We need to go somewhere because America still has a long way to travel."

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