Tim Ryan: “I cannot believe that in the United States Congress we have done all we could possibly do for the working poor in this…”

“I cannot believe that in the United States Congress we have done all we could possibly do for the working poor in this country. Shut out the lights, close the doors, we have done all we can because we have given a tax cut. I think it is nonsense. Two quick points. One, the gentleman from Arizona has brought up about the earned income tax credit. A great program, no doubt about it. This is the same program that has a better chance of getting audited if you apply for that program by the IRS than if you make $1 million a year. This government is slanted against the poor and for the rich. Those are the stubborn facts that make it very difficult. The second part is I have only been here 9 months. There is one thing I have learned. If you do not have a lobby, if you cannot raise millions of dollars for the majority party, your agenda does not make it to this floor. If you are the pharmaceutical companies, if you are the insurance companies, your agenda is here. If you are the working poor, you get forgotten, you have got enough, we have done all we can do. If you do not live in a gated community, you have been ignored by this Congress.”