Steve Israel: “I appreciate and respect his passion, but let me tell the Members what our plan is: It is the same plan that every…”

“I appreciate and respect his passion, but let me tell the Members what our plan is: It is the same plan that every American family and every small business has to abide by every day. That plan says we make sure that the budgets are balanced. That plan says we make sure that the numbers add up. That plan says we take care of retirement. That plan says we make sure if we get sick or if our parents or grandparents get sick, we can pay for their medications and prescription drugs. That is not a novel plan, that is the plan that every single working American family has to abide by, and it is the same plan we should abide by. I am one of those Democrats who have supported tax cuts. I was one of 28 Democrats to support the President's tax cut. I was one of nine Democrats to support the President's economic stimulus package because it provided tax cuts, because we could afford those plans. Now all we are asking is for some bipartisanship. I will support this bill. All we are asking is that we do the responsible thing and have the Congressional Budget Office certify to the American people that this is not going to break into their Social Security and their retirement savings. That is the responsible thing to do. That is the plan that every American family wants from us, and that is what we should do.”