On the recordAugust 10, 2010
I strongly support the $16 billion of critical funding that this legislation provides for Medicaid assistance and the $10 billion in education funding for teachers. I will support it today, as I have several times in the past when this package has come for a vote to the floor of this House. Yet I rise in support of this bill with a heavy heart, not because of what it provides, but because of what it takes away. I know, as many of my colleagues do, regardless of party, that without these resources many States, including my State of Connecticut, will have to make Draconian cuts to essential services that they cannot afford to make without tearing apart the basic fabric of their communities. That is why this bill is so critical. Nothing could be more important than the education of our children and the access to health care services that families depend on, especially in this tough economy. And, finally, this bill ends tax breaks for exporting American jobs. However, I cannot in good conscience condone the way we have paid for this package, what we have taken away in the process.
