Carolyn Maloney: “I am afraid that our colleagues have made a slight mistake in naming their plan. This budget should be called the ``Road…”

“I am afraid that our colleagues have made a slight mistake in naming their plan. This budget should be called the ``Road to Austerity'' because it is a plan that is most noteworthy for the rather harsh austerity it demands of the many and the lavish benefits it extends to the few. It clearly envisions a rising tide of selective tax cuts that would lift all yachts, but leave most dinghies. Our Republican friends like to talk about making the hard choices. What they propose here would indeed make things much harder for millions of Americans, but it will also make things much easier for a fortunate few--millionaires and billionaires. That's their plan. But before we get to the specifics of the plan tonight, it's important to examine where we are before we decide where we want to go. Because of President Obama's economic policies, there are continuing signs of economic progress and recovery. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2011 and through the beginning of this year, there is fresh new data showing that the recovery is gaining strength. The economy has added more than 200,000 jobs for 3 straight months. As you can see from this chart, private sector employment has increased for 24 consecutive months; And during these past 24 months, the economy has added almost 4 million private sector jobs. On this chart, the red bars are the Bush administration.…”