Bill Lee: “First, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership as our ranking member on our Budget Committee.…”

“First, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership as our ranking member on our Budget Committee. I rise in strong opposition to the Republican's so-called budget plan. I am a member, yes, of the Budget Committee and the Appropriations Committee, and I know, because we work on this each and every day, that our national budget is a statement of our national priorities and our values. I know very well that the Republicans have put forward, quite frankly, a sinister budget whose chief purpose is to hand tax breaks to billionaires. Budgets are moral documents. They should not be rigged in favor of special interests and the wealthy few, but the Republican budget is. Our Nation's budget should prioritize working families and the middle class, too many of whom are making low wages and living below the poverty line. It should assist those struggling to find a job and investment in workforce training, education, job creation, and job training. Instead, this Republican budget creates tax cuts for billionaire, millionaires, and corporations. Our budget should expand to protect healthcare for all. Instead, this budget steals nearly $2 trillion from lifesaving Medicaid and Medicare. Our budget should also invest in our crumbling infrastructure, which, of course, creates jobs. But the Republican budget cuts funding for our roads, our bridges, and our railways.…”