On the recordApril 12, 2011
I thank the gentleman and thanks for his participation. I just want to say in closing that budget battles are more about dollars, and I think all of us on both sides of the aisle believe that and live by that, or want to live by that. Budgets are about values. Budgets are about what we care for in America. And one of the things that I think we have always stood for in America is the idea that anyone has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential, and to be wealthy, but certainly to be happy and to be healthy. What the Republican budget does is destroy much of that hope, destroy much of that dream, slashing education, slashing research and development, and slashing investment in infrastructure while at the same time giving more and more tax breaks to wealthy individuals, millionaires, billionaires, oil companies, Wall Street hedge fund managers, and the people who have already had more than their share of the American blessing. So as we proceed in this debate this week on the budget and throughout these next few months in the Congress, I want to make it very clear that our values are at stake, not just our dollars, but our values, and whether you call it the Road to Ruin, or as I look to call it, the Pay Back for the Prosperous, the Republican budget does not reflect our values. It does not lead to a brighter future for the vast majority of Americans, and it should be rejected.…





