Political Quotes

Gene Taylor: “If we should have been embarrassed for Congressmen writing checks on money that was not there, should we not be ashamed…”

On the recordMay 16, 2001
If we should have been embarrassed for Congressmen writing checks on money that was not there, should we not be ashamed that we are passing tax cuts on a day when we owe the Social Security system $1.1 trillion? We have taken their money, we have spent it on other things and now when we have a small surplus, instead of putting that money aside for Social Security, we are giving some Americans a tax break. It goes beyond that. For years we have been taking money out of the defense budget. Since the 1980s, we have pulled $162 billion out of the Department of Defense budget with the promise that we were setting it aside to pay future military retirees' benefits.
Said by
Gene Taylor
Mississippi

Editor's note · Context

Discussing budget priorities and tax cuts in relation to Social Security and defense funding.

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