On the recordOctober 18, 2017
I wish to start by commending the Senator from New Mexico for his leadership on many issues but today for being on the floor to protect this vital, beautiful American treasure, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I thank the Senator. I wish to speak about the budget as well. I hope everyone across the country will really pay attention to the debate we are having in the Senate over the next couple of days and over the coming weeks and months. There is no doubt that when we look at the budget that is going to come to the floor of this Senate, it is stacked overwhelmingly in favor of the wealthiest Americans and powerful special interests, and the benefits that will go to the folks at the very top are paid for, in one way or another, by everyone and everything else. I wish to be very clear. I think we need to reform our Tax Code. We need to simplify our Tax Code. We need to reduce the tax burden on middle- class families throughout the country. We should do that in a transparent, accountable, and bipartisan fashion, but make no mistake, unfortunately, what we have received so far from the Trump administration is something that has been cooked up behind closed doors, and the more we look at it, the worse it gets, from the perspective of making sure the American public is protected in this process. At the end of the day, it is just another warmed-over version of what we know of as trickle-down economics. What is trickle-down economics?…
