On the recordJune 14, 2011
I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the former ranking member of this committee. Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman. I want to comment on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who continue to make reference to wanting to reduce the deficit and that they are the only ones interested in reducing the deficit and that is what this debate is all about. The fact of the matter is that Democrats and Republicans are very interested in reducing the deficit. The biggest difference occurs in where one starts to effectuate a change in debt reduction, and I will tell you that that is what the basic divide is here. Now, there are a number of ways in which we can reduce the deficit. One is that we can look at the $41 billion in the oil subsidies that we grant every year. The oil industry is flush with money, when one CEO can make $21.5 million a year, make profits that are overwhelming, and gasoline in the State of Connecticut is $4.39 a gallon for regular gas. So let's start with the $41 billion and we can reduce the deficit. How about the $8 billion that we provide to multinational corporations to take their jobs overseas? Now, that is another place where we could shut down the loopholes, gain some money and reduce the deficit. There is also a third area. What about agriculture subsidies; not to small farmers, not to dairy farmers, but to big agribusiness.…
