Emanuel Cleaver: “In closing, I am not accusing anybody of being mean-spirited and wanting to hurt people. I am absolutely convinced that…”

“In closing, I am not accusing anybody of being mean-spirited and wanting to hurt people. I am absolutely convinced that those who support the Republican budget are good and decent Americans. They want the best things for this country. I will never stand on this floor and do that. But what I am saying is I believe and our caucus believes that their program, their budget, is one that does damage to the vulnerable population of this country. We believe that somebody must stand up and speak for those who are hurting and cannot speak for themselves. {time} 2210 A budget is a moral document. It is a photograph of what we believe. It is a look into the somebodiness of the United States of America. And when we look at this budget that this Congress will ultimately approve, some budget, it is who we are. It is a biography of who we are. And I am absolutely convinced that the wrong budget--and I think that the budget that is before us is the wrong budget--could create a gash on the soul of America and leave a scar for a long, long time. Madam Chair, this is a time that we must be careful because if we are not, great damage will be done to the people who can afford the damage the least. I'm talking about children. I'm talking about the elderly. And I'm talking about Americans who live next door to us, people who sit on the pew with us in church. These are people who are going to be hurt by this budget.…”