Tom Harkin: “if you want to know why this Republican- controlled Congress's approval rating has plunged to 22 percent and why…”

“if you want to know why this Republican- controlled Congress's approval rating has plunged to 22 percent and why President Bush's approval rating is an equally dismal 31 percent, exhibit A is this reckless, irresponsible tax reconciliation bill. Let's consider the context in which the Republicans are pushing this latest giveaway of $70 billion, all of which will be added to the deficit and national debt: The Republicans are ramming through these new tax breaks despite the fact that they we are facing a deficit, this year, in excess of $300 billion a year despite the fact that they have run up $2 trillion in new debt since President Bush took office, despite the fact that they are trying to raise the debt limit to an astonishing $10 trillion, despite the fact that we are spending $10 billion a month on their endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and despite the fact that they have increased spending by 25 percent in just 5 years' time. The level of irresponsibility here is just breathtaking. There is nothing conservative about handing out $2 trillion in tax breaks over 5 years and passing the bill to our children and grandchildren. Rather than providing for our children's education, health, and well-being, this bill will provide them with another huge dose of our debt. That is plain, old-fashioned recklessness and irresponsibility. It is simply shameful.…”