Joe Cunningham: “my colleagues on this side of the aisle are not evil. Matter of fact, I spoke to the gentleman from New York's (Mr.…”

“my colleagues on this side of the aisle are not evil. Matter of fact, I spoke to the gentleman from New York's (Mr. Rangel) staffer just yesterday. He informed me that only about 9 percent of the population that he represents own their own home, and it is difficult to think that people with tax relief in that district could help themselves more than government, but neither my district nor the gentleman from New York's (Mr. Rangel) district I think represents mid-America, and tax relief does help those individuals with money in their own pockets. I would say to my colleagues, the issue of the Social Security Trust Fund is not on this floor because in 1993, when the Democrats controlled the White House, the House and the Senate, they claimed that they wanted tax relief for the middle class. What did they do? They could not help themselves. They raised the tax on the middle class. They took every dime out of the Social Security Trust Fund for domestic spending. They increased taxes, and they increased spending, and what we are saying is that we believe that for all America that tax relief, marriage penalty, death tax, more money in education IRAs benefits most of the people in America. I understand why the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) wants more government support. He is not evil. It helps his district, but in my district and I think the majority of districts, it does not, and that is what we are fighting for is across the board middle America.”