On the recordMarch 15, 2011
Mr. Speaker, today I rise with my colleagues to talk again about jobs. In order to reduce the deficit, everyone in the Nation must work. But how can you work when you do not have a job? My constituents want to work. They are still hurting. Maybe we can't feel the hurt because we have jobs. I am still waiting to hear the Republican plan for jobs. When are we going to help the people become whole again? They are losing their homes. Whole families are homeless and are not knowing what to do next. Their unemployment benefits have expired, and still they can't find work. Right now, over 50 percent of homeowners in the Miami housing market either owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth or they're within 5 percent of that mark. Instead of figuring out ways to help, tomorrow Congress will be voting on whether or not to end programs that offer hope to distressed homeowners. We talk about a deficit that took 8 years to create during the Bush administration. It will take us more than 2 years to peel away the layers of 8 years of bad judgment, generous tax exemptions to the rich, two wars, and a failed economy. How can we cut so deeply, so fast, causing so many people to lose their jobs? If people can't work, they can't save their homes. Stay on task: jobs, jobs, jobs. ____________________





