Vito Fossella: “I think what this day really reflects is what the American people expect and deserve, and that is straight talk from the…”

“I think what this day really reflects is what the American people expect and deserve, and that is straight talk from the folks here in Washington. I think what the people back home in Staten Island and Brooklyn appreciate is when we are honest with them. For too many years, the people in Washington have not been honest with the people I represent, and that is true across the country. Now, to me, the most important things in their minds these days are the state of Social Security and Medicare, among others, education, tax cuts. When we talk about Social Security and Medicare, look what the Republican Congress has delivered: Straight talk and fiscal responsibility, locking away the entire Social Security surplus for the Nation's elderly, almost $1.8 trillion over 10 years to save, to strengthen, and to preserve Social Security and Medicare, money that should go for these essential programs and not on what others around here would like to do, spend on their favorite wasteful Government programs or, in other words, a little slush fund. The other thing we talk about and I think is right for the country, right for economic growth, is needed tax relief.”