Shelley Berkley: “I thank the gentlelady from California for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I think expedited screening for military…”

“I thank the gentlelady from California for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I think expedited screening for military servicemembers is very important. I am glad that we are taking this bill up on a bipartisan basis, but I think there are some other things happening right now that should also be given our complete attention with regard to what we will be talking about. With the highest unemployment rate in the Nation, far too many Nevadans are worrying about how they're going to make ends meet. Nevada's middle class families who still have jobs cannot afford a massive tax increase in January, but that's exactly the direction we appear to be heading thanks to the Tea Party extremists in the House of Representatives. They're holding middle-income families hostage; they're holding unemployed people hostage; and they're holding senior citizens hostage. One would ask, Why? It's to protect their special interest buddies-- Wall Street millionaires, Big Oil executives, and corporations that ship American jobs overseas. Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. It would be a disaster if the House Republicans refused to stand up to Wall Street today and extend the middle class tax cuts. In Nevada, 1.2 million people would see their taxes rise as much as $1,247 in January if this House of Representatives, led by the Republicans, doesn't do the right thing. With families struggling just to pay rent, put food on their tables, and put gas in their cars, that's not acceptable.…”