Bill Pascrell: “We are really in the middle of the theater of the absurd. I'm not opposed, and apparently the other side is not opposed…”

“We are really in the middle of the theater of the absurd. I'm not opposed, and apparently the other side is not opposed, to stimulus spending for the economy. I don't know where they have been for the last 18 months. Let's make effective stimulus. Since you mentioned the CBO, Mr. Cantor, through the Chair, they rank this bill next to last in bang for the buck in job creation. You didn't quote CBO about that. Through the Speaker, the Joint Committee on Taxation said the economic impact is so small as to be incalculable--your own analysis on your Web site. It's very clear it's going to cost, add, $1.1 million, for every job created, to the deficit. I rise in strong opposition to this legislation. Just yesterday, in order to comply with the majority's budget that violates the deal Speaker Boehner agreed to last year--that deal is clear, public--the Ways and Means Committee cut $53 billion in health care tax credits, child tax credits, social services block credits. You cut it yesterday for the disabled, for the elderly who are most vulnerable. In New Jersey, they could lose millions of dollars for Meals on Wheels, foster care. This is unacceptable. We are voting to add $47 billion to the deficit today with a giveaway to professional sports teams--oh, you didn't know that--or hedge fund operators or managers or whatever they call themselves, and multimillion-dollar partnerships and corporations. Yes, $47 billion goes to 125,000 millionaires. The SPEAKER pro tempore.…”