Tom Harkin: “I guess you could sum up this budget in very few words. It is bad for what ails us in this country. It is bad for our…”

“I guess you could sum up this budget in very few words. It is bad for what ails us in this country. It is bad for our people. It is bad for our future. It is bad for our kids, and especially bad for our elderly. Hubert Humphrey, one of my great political heroes, once said that the moral test of government is how the government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick and the needy. Let's be clear: This conference report flunks the moral test of government. It turns its back on far too many of these Americans. And to the extent that it implements the Bush tax proposal, it basically says: If you earn $1 million a year, if you are very secure, we are going to help you get wealthier. But if you are in the dawn of life and you are a child, perhaps, who needs some help because you are in the lower socioeconomic strata of America, if you are poor, sick, elderly, if you are one of the baby boomers getting ready to go on Medicare, well, they are telling you, so long, sucker, we will see you later.”