Political Quotes

“much of what we heard all day here in the Chamber and we heard from the Special Orders that preceded us was these are tight budgetary times. Well, they are tight budgetary times because of certain things. Now, part of the reason they are tight budgetary times is that we have taken our national resources and we have given them to the richest people in America in the form of tax breaks, people who really are doing quite well already. Is it not ironic that at a time of war, we would give tax breaks to rich, comfortable, wealthy people at the very upper end of the income spectrum and, at the same time, the President, and this is the President of the United States, the man who stood right up there a few days ago and gave the State of the Union address, the Commander in Chief, the man who made the decision to send these soldiers into war; that he would send us a budget and in that budget he would ask that the cost of a prescription drug for a veteran be increased, be increased from $7 to $15; and he would ask that these veterans have to pay a $250 annual copayment. Let me say this, and then I will yield to my friend. The American people need to know this, and many of them do. But we get paid pretty well here in the Chamber. I do not know, I truthfully do not know the exact dollar amount of our salaries, but it is over $150,000 that a Member of the House of Representatives makes. I think that is a pretty good income.”