Jane Harman: “Mr. Speaker, here are some unemployment statistics from cities in my district: Redondo Beach, 2.7 percent; Manhattan…”

“Mr. Speaker, here are some unemployment statistics from cities in my district: Redondo Beach, 2.7 percent; Manhattan Beach, 1.9 percent; Los Angeles, 5.4 percent, and Torrance, 3.1 percent. Pretty good, huh? How did we get here? Part of it is the ingenuity of the private sector. The other part is the successful Federal efforts to balance the budget in a balanced way. I am a veteran of the budget wars. I voted for the 1993 Budget Act, Penny-Kasich, to cut $90 billion in spending, the Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment, the 1997 Budget Act. Though my family and I would benefit from the bill before us, now is not the time. I join the Blue Dogs in insisting on a budget first. I want unemployment to stay low. That will only happen if we do not pass a tax cut until we know we can afford it.”