Richard Gephardt: “for weeks now, Americans have watched in astonishment as House Republicans have voted to ravage our most basic…”

“for weeks now, Americans have watched in astonishment as House Republicans have voted to ravage our most basic commitments to hard-working families: School lunch for children who would literally go hungry without it; heating assistance for frail elderly who would literally freeze to death without it; a program of food and nutrition for pregnant women that saves more than three times what it costs. Yesterday, the Republican leadership added outrage to injury, by rolling out the reason behind these budget-shredding atrocities: A capital gains tax cut that is a boon for the privileged, but a bust for working people. The most affluent Americans do not need a tax cut. That is why Democrats are fighting to give a tax break to the middle-class families who have seen their standard of living slide for the past 16 years. According to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, the Republican tax cut would give $8,000 to those earning more than $200,000 a year--but only a meager $92 to those earning $30,000 a year. That would be bad public policy on any day, in any debate. But because it is funded by taking food from the mouths of children and heat from the homes of senior citizens, this tax giveaway is an affront to fundamental fairness and decency. Mr. Speaker, if there was ever any doubt, there is no doubt today: Elections have consequences.”