Bill Pascrell: “My colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't like the Federal loan guarantee programs that help first-time…”

“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't like the Federal loan guarantee programs that help first-time homebuyers, that help less fortunate Americans pay for their education. They are willing to cook the books in order to make a better case for their elimination. Mr. Speaker, we could do better than this. We can argue about these programs on their merits instead of resorting to budgeting sleight-of- hand, process. I am strongly opposed to the bill. We could be voting to raise the minimum wage and give a raise to 27.8 million Americans to $10.10 per hour. That is what we should be debating on this floor. We could finally consider the immigration reform legislation that the Senate passed nearly a year ago. We should be debating the UI-- unemployment insurance--rates to restore unemployment benefits to more than 2 million Americans, including 125,000 in our own State of New Jersey. But, instead, we are here today considering a bill that does nothing except enable the majority's fringe ideology, pave the way for even more cuts to the most vulnerable in the future.”