John Joseph Moakley: “Mr. Speaker, let us make no mistake on what we are about here today; the cuts we are about to adopt today, with precious…”

“Mr. Speaker, let us make no mistake on what we are about here today; the cuts we are about to adopt today, with precious little debate, are to finance the tax cuts of tomorrow. There is a direct and irrefutable relationship. So the cuts in Medicare, the cuts in veterans' benefits, the cuts in Social Security Administration costs, are to finance tax cuts tomorrow. Tomorrow perhaps we will get the debate on the merits of the tax cut. The point is, earlier the esteemed chairman of the Committee on Rules responded to my earlier statement saying, well, so the gentleman has not had time to read the bill. So there is only one copy. Now it is on the Internet. That is great. But he said earlier, he said, he should just rely on the judgment of some of his colleagues. Can he not follow them? First off, I doubt that they have had an opportunity to read the entire bill. And secondly, no, I did not check my brain at the door when I got elected to Congress. I do not hand my voting card to anybody else.”