Political Quotes

“That is, remember, people with a minimum income of $373,000. Meanwhile, one could be a mother raising two kids making $22,000 a year. Do Members know what that tax cut is? Zero, not one nickel. So it seems to me not only is the Bush tax proposal grotesquely unfair, giving huge tax breaks to the people who need it the least, but it is absolutely irresponsible. President Bush, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), myself, the American people, do not know what the economy will be next year, in 5 years, and certainly not in 10 years. Nobody knows. For years and years, our conservative friends have been saying, we cannot spend money we do not have. We have to be cautious with the taxpayers' money. But they have decided to give out at minimum $1.3 trillion or probably a lot more over a 10-year period. Meanwhile, back in Vermont and throughout this country, young people who graduate from a 4-year college are ending up at $19,000 in debt, on average. Lower-income kids are ending up even more in debt, and that does not count the debt incurred by the young man's or woman's parents. For the first time in many years, a lot of low-income high school graduates are thinking twice about whether or not they want to go to college. Meanwhile, Pell grants and other student aid programs for college students have in no way kept pace with the escalating cost of college, putting enormous stress on the middle class.”