Ed Markey: “I thank the gentleman. The Republican budget reads like the legislative version of the ``Hunger Games,'' pitting…”

“I thank the gentleman. The Republican budget reads like the legislative version of the ``Hunger Games,'' pitting American families in an unfair and losing battle against billionaires and Big Oil. One, the Republican budget doles out tax breaks that the wealthiest don't need and we can't afford; two, gives away $4 billion in annual tax breaks for oil companies; three, abandons grandma and grandpa, forcing them to pay more for health care or forgo coverage altogether; four, takes food out of the mouths of hungry children all across our country. Just yesterday, Senate Republicans refused to fix a broken system that allows CEOs to pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. Here in the House, the Republican leadership has called the Buffett rule a hoax. The real hoax is the Republican budget. The GOP used to stand for Grand Old Party. Now it stands for Guaranteed Oil Profits; now it stands for Gut and Get Old People; now it stands for Greed Over Principle. One hundred years after the Titanic sank, the Republican budget throws working Americans overboard while saving the lifeboats for the wealthiest. The ``Hunger Games,'' that's what the Republicans are playing. For the entertainment of the billionaires and the oil companies, we--that is the Republicans--are now going to sacrifice the programs that help the neediest children in our country. It is a budget that does not deserve the support of any Member of this institution.”