Hilda L. Solis: “tonight I rise in great disagreement with the funding priorities set forth by our President that was just unveiled a few…”

“tonight I rise in great disagreement with the funding priorities set forth by our President that was just unveiled a few days ago in his 2005 budget. Over and over again we hear that President Bush wants to create jobs, protect our environment, and help the uninsured and make our Nation a safer place for future generations. However, the President has raised or released a budget with the record deficit of $521 billion that is, in my opinion, one of the most anti-worker, anti-health care, and anti-environmental proposals in modern times. When the President took office it was the first time in 70 years that a President had a surplus, a surplus of $5.6 trillion. For the third year in a row, this administration has proposed more oversize tax cuts that just drive the budget further into the red and do nothing to bolster the priorities of the American public. We need more jobs. We need better access to health care. We need more funding for education and more environmental protections. And most of all, we need a commitment by this administration to make these priorities. Let us look at the reality facing our American families. Since President Bush took office, the economy is down 2.9 million private sector jobs; 2.9 million jobs lost. And I am referring to a chart here, unemployment rates in my own district. When I look at the cities that I represent, for example, the city of El Monte, we are still upwards of 7.9 percent in unemployment.”