Bill Delahunt: “I think the point that our colleague Ms. Wasserman Schultz was making about arithmetic and the fact that, despite the…”

“I think the point that our colleague Ms. Wasserman Schultz was making about arithmetic and the fact that, despite the rhetoric, the reality is that the deficit will increase as a result of the action that this Republican majority will take during the course of this week in concert with the Republican Senate in terms of spending cuts and tax cuts, these so-called reconciliation bills. I think it is important to note a very disturbing statistic that was referred to in a Wall Street Journal article, and that is that the Federal Government's budget deficit in December, in December 2005, the month just concluded, was in excess of $83 billion. That is for a single month. That is an increase of some 43 percent from a year earlier, that is from November of 2004, and a record high for any November in American history. So the direction that this country is headed with the economic policies that are debated and voted on, again recognizing that there is a Republican majority, I would submit are heading our Nation into a potential economic tsunami. Distinguished economists from all places on the spectrum have expressed concern. I am sure during the course of our conversation, knowing how well prepared you all are, you 30-somethings, you will be able to provide a quote for our colleagues and for those that are watching our conversation this evening. But stop for one minute and simply think of that figure, $83 billion.”