Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Rhode Island for his comments, and I wanted to say this, as well, that this is a bill that was constructed by more than 350 different groups across this great country and by Members of this body who put together their ideas. The Ways and Means Committee merely took the great ideas of our colleagues and put them together--ideas that have been endorsed by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Social Security Works, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the California Alliance for Retired Americans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Strengthen Social Security Coalition, the NAACP, and the list goes on. The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel) understands this, and Florida probably leads the country in terms of the number of seniors that it has in their districts. As we pointed out before to the Speaker, every district receives money--$364 million a month, but it has been that way for more than 50-plus years. These programs need to be enhanced and extended, not cut. The provision by the Republican Study Committee, if there is nothing done by 2034, Social Security is cut by 20 percent. Instead, they are calling to raise the age now and cut Social Security by 21 percent today. How does that possibly make any sense? Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel) who understands this.”