David Obey: “Mr. Chairman, I cannot help but respond to some of the previous speaker's comments. The previous speaker quoted…”

“Mr. Chairman, I cannot help but respond to some of the previous speaker's comments. The previous speaker quoted accurately President Kennedy who said that we would ``pay any price and bear any burden in the defense of freedom.'' That is a wonderful phrase. But my question is, what do you mean by ``we,'' ``we'' will bear any burden? I want to know who is bearing any burden in this society for this effort right now, except for the troops and their families. How much of a burden are the politicians in this Chamber bearing? They are not facing up to the tough choices that are necessary to finance this war. How much of a burden are we asking the most well-off and privileged people in this society to pay, when the majority party and the White House insist on guaranteeing that, despite the need to pay for the war, they will still, that top 1 percent of earners will still get on average a $130,000 tax cut, rather than the $52,000 that they would get under the Obey amendment, those who make $1 million a year I am talking about? If we are going to quote John Kennedy, let us live up to the spirit of Kennedy's remarks and support shared sacrifice for everyone, not just those who are serving in the military.”