Nancy Pelosi: “I think the appropriate vote for me, representing my constituents, is no. I frankly can understand why my Republican…”

“I think the appropriate vote for me, representing my constituents, is no. I frankly can understand why my Republican colleagues would support a budget that gives a tax break to the highest end individuals while putting the burden of this budget on the less fortunate in our country. I do not think either vote is a good or bad vote on this. I do think, though, that we should make a statement about who wins and who loses in this budget bill. First, let me say that I believe we are here today because of actions taken on two previous occasions by this Congress. One was in 1993, when the Democrats and only the Democrats voted to support President Clinton's bill that year for deficit reduction and balancing the budget. That took us down a path of deficit reduction, stimulated our economy, and took us down a path toward success, and that puts us in position to have a balanced budget in the very near future. We do not have a balanced budget now, though, because of a vote that was taken many years ago, in 1981, the Reagan tax cut bill.”