Patricia Schroeder: “This is the budget with vision. We either believe in equality and justice for all or we do not. This is the budget that…”

“This is the budget with vision. We either believe in equality and justice for all or we do not. This is the budget that gives a hand up to people. Let me talk about what a lot of perceptions about this budget are that are wrong. A lot of people have the perception that the Black Caucus budget is about handouts, it is about training for no jobs that are there, and so on. Let me answer what this budget has in it. It has some very, very good job creation, better than anything else. They increase science and space. And they put extra money in for creating jobs in things like high-definition television and many other places that are the jobs of the future. In energy, they increase energy. And guess what they do? They transfer money from nuclear fission to alternative fuels for creating new kinds of automobiles and so forth. We have heard all sorts of people talk on this floor, talking about, If you vote for this budget, we won't be able to afford but one platoon in the military. Oh, yeah? Does one platoon cost $260 billion, then you get all the rest of it for the additional $10 billion that the Black Caucus passed? Now that does not pass the giggle test.”