Joe Morelle: “I thank my friend, the gentleman from Virginia, for yielding me time. I rise today in strong opposition to this budget…”

“I thank my friend, the gentleman from Virginia, for yielding me time. I rise today in strong opposition to this budget resolution. As an Appropriations Committee member, thoughtful consideration of government spending is a responsibility I don't take lightly. I believe every hard-earned taxpayer dollar must work for all Americans, not fuel wildly irresponsible economic theory. I would like to think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle believe the same thing, given the rhetoric we have all heard over the last several years. So I encourage the American people to watch what House Republicans do, not what they say. Remarkably, instead of lowering costs, this reckless budget resolution bestows tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans while jeopardizing essential healthcare and nutrition programs. For this reason, I strongly oppose the budget resolution authored by House Republicans. Shockingly, gutting programs our communities rely on isn't harmful enough because this resolution will also require taxpayers to borrow another $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. Our Nation's Founders vested in the House of Representatives the unique set of powers to make it responsive to the will of the people. The father of our Constitution, James Madison, said that ``the House should have an immediate dependence on, and intimate sympathy with, the people.'' House Republicans demonstrate no dependence on nor sympathy with the American people.…”