Steve Israel: “I supported tax cuts in 2001. That was before 9/11. That was before our war on terrorism. That was before a potential…”

“I supported tax cuts in 2001. That was before 9/11. That was before our war on terrorism. That was before a potential war in Iraq. That was before we had new homeland needs. But today the world is different. We have new challenges. We have to make sure that our budgets keep pace with those challenges and are responsible in adapting to those challenges. We cannot send young people into an unfunded battle in Iraq tonight and slash their veterans benefits when they come home tomorrow by $15 billion. We cannot offer the deepest tax cuts to the very richest and balance budgets on the backs of those who are fighting on our fronts. I represent some constituents who would benefit greatly by a tax cut at the top brackets. I cannot think of a single one who would come up to me at a Support Our Troops rally or a reservist center and say, 'Congressman, I will take my $90,000 tax cut now, and I don't care if veterans have to stand in longer lines, have shortages of beds or can't get into VA hospitals tomorrow.' We all want to engage in shared sacrifice. We are at a critical time in our Nation's history. Our first obligation has to be to our seniors and those fighting for our freedom in Iraq and other dangerous places in the world. We cannot cut their beds, their budgets; we cannot balance tax cuts on their backs.”