Brian Bilbray: “I am not trying to be confrontational. I am trying to just communicate what a citizen sees in these proceedings. You…”

“I am not trying to be confrontational. I am trying to just communicate what a citizen sees in these proceedings. You know, we are talking about 137,000 children in his district that parents that could have access to this. Now, that is fine, and we can make those judgments. But do you realize that 2 years ago when this vote was, the tax increase was put in, my dear colleagues on the other side of the aisle, there was a commitment made that once the tax increase went in, you will see tough, tough budget cuts; you will see us reduce it; trust us. What happened this year with the President's budget? Will you agree that the credibility of the political process was destroyed when the President of the United States proposed a budget that had none of the cuts that were proposed 2 years ago when the tax increase goes in? And as a citizen, I ran for Congress because the credibility was being destroyed by making promises on one side to raise taxes and never coming across the other way. Mr. Chairman, I represent a diverse district along the Pacific coast, but I grew up and I live in a working-class neighborhood, and when I hear all the battle about the rich getting some benefit, I would wish my colleagues on the other side would be half as worried about the middle class getting their fair share of tax cuts rather than always worrying about something might happen that may benefit somebody who has been a little more prosperous.”