Frank Pallone: “yesterday in the House we started the appropriations process, and that continues today, but the problem is that the…”

“yesterday in the House we started the appropriations process, and that continues today, but the problem is that the Republican leadership and the President continue to ignore the fiscal crisis that they have created here in the Congress and across the country. As you know, we passed a budget this week, but at the same time the debt continues to rise and so much of the money actually being spent is going towards the war in Iraq which is not really being addressed. In fact, many times, the budget simply masks that because it does not include the funding and the cost of the war in the budget itself. So what I say today, rather than just focus on the appropriation bills and the different items back and forth, the Republican Congress should look at the overall picture. They just passed another tax cut bill, with tax cuts primarily going to large corporations, special interests, wealthy individuals, not the average American; and they continue to increase the debt. Spending is also out of control, and they are not doing anything about it. Unfortunately, over the long term this leads to a fiscal crisis. We continue to go into debt. We don't have the money available to borrow for new production, and the Republicans need to address this fiscal crisis. They are not doing it, Mr. Speaker. ____________________”