Xavier Becerra: “while some Republicans talk about buckling knees, President Clinton's stance last night was bold and firm: Cut the…”

“while some Republicans talk about buckling knees, President Clinton's stance last night was bold and firm: Cut the deficit and balance the budget, but not on the backs of our senior citizens and children. The Republicans' so-called balanced budget amendment requires $1.2 trillion in cuts. But get this, they will not tell us how they are going to get there. We do know one thing for sure: Republicans will not exempt Social Security and Medicare. In fact, during a recent hearing on the balanced budget amendment in the Committee on the Judiciary, every Republican but one voted against an amendment to protect Social Security from the budget ax. I understand that Speaker Gingrich has said in an interview recently that Social Security is off the table. If this is so, then why are his Republican colleagues voting against such an amendment and why in the past has Speaker Gingrich himself said that 'everything is on the table'? Everything includes Social Security. Mr. Speaker, the President's words rang very true last night when he said the elderly have made us what we are. And unlike the Republicans, the President's words were very clear and unequivocal when he said 'My budget cuts a lot, but it protects education, veterans, Social Security, and Medicare.' Mr. Speaker, rather than just talk about balancing the budget, I challenge the Republicans to bring their real budget cleaver out from underneath the table.”