Pete Stark: “Mr. Speaker, the Republicans this morning are doing a rather silly exercise, I think. It is duplicitous, I guess, in its…”

“Mr. Speaker, the Republicans this morning are doing a rather silly exercise, I think. It is duplicitous, I guess, in its best light. They are trying to take out the user fees and revenue raisers for a separate vote, all except those which they have originated and left in. In other words, they are being selective. They will harm children, health care for the frail elderly, food for the poor. Their own user fees will pay for flood insurance and some homebuyers and air travelers, health insurance for civil servants. But not health insurance for people on Medicare, not health insurance for the poor, not health insurance for children. It is the same duplicitousness that we heard yesterday, the right-wing religious wackos who were talking about praying. Many of them made a claim to be Christians. What kind of a Christian would harm small children? What kind of a Christian would deny health care to the indigent? What kind of a Christian would deny housing to the poor? For the people on the Republican side whose plan is to destroy programs for the poor and to build their budget on the backs of the poor and then try to convince the American people they are Christians is a lie, it is duplicitous, and it is wrong. So as it is this morning, we are wasting our time and the public's time with political posturing for a bankrupt program.”