John Sarbanes: “Those earning over $1 million get $127,000 per year. As a category, they get $45 billion. Would they be willing to…”

“Those earning over $1 million get $127,000 per year. As a category, they get $45 billion. Would they be willing to reduce that to $44,600,000,000 in order that we could fund these firefighter grants at the full authorization level of $900 million instead of the $500 million that is in the President's budget, which itself represented a cut of $250 million from what Congress had appropriated in each of the other 2 years? Is it unfair, inequitable, unjust to say that in the order of priorities, funding those firefighter grants should come ahead of a small portion of these tax cuts for those making $337,000 a year? I defy anyone to argue the equities of that case. That is why this is not a good budget. That is why we voted against it in the committee and that is why over the coming days, under the leadership of our very able colleague from North Dakota, we will put before this body--I and others and certainly the Senator from North Dakota himself--amendments that will frame the choice in terms of priorities. Those are the choices we need to face.”