Charles Rangel: “My colleagues, I'm voting against the rule because, in the later years in this Congress, I've seen a whole lot of…”

“My colleagues, I'm voting against the rule because, in the later years in this Congress, I've seen a whole lot of things, but it's never been this polarized, it's never been in terms of attacking a President, and it's never been risking the whole fiscal credibility of the great United States of America in order to make political gains. Clearly, when everyone talks about everyone must make a sacrifice, I assume that we're talking about a sacrifice in cutting the budget, not receiving the benefits; the protections of some programs and not others. And then on the other side, I have to pause because I don't see any sacrifice. It's assumed by the general public that the sacrifice means that maybe if you became wealthy under the great support that you received from this country, that you'll make some small sacrifice; or maybe that sacrifice could be interpreted as that when you received preferential treatment in the Tax Code for all of these years, that you're willing to say I don't need it now, you were there when I needed you. {time} 1510 But I think it's safe to say that the American people will be making sacrifices, and they're making it for a crisis that they're so far away from. The people that enjoyed the crisis in terms of financial gain are not asked even to say ``I'm sorry.'' And the people that really love, respect, and hope, and dream, that lost their homes and their jobs, their self-esteem, these are the ones that will make further sacrifices.…”