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"2 Minutest On the Budget"
House of Representatives - March 12, 2008

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)

Mr. Speaker:

The President’s proposed budget can mean only one thing: the lights are on down at the White House, but nobody is home.  He has House Republicans carrying the water, but their budget is his will, make no mistake about it. And if the President gets his way, lights will go off across America and people will suffer, because of the President’s disregard for the state of the economy, the plight of the American Middle Class, and a domestic casualty from his irresponsible war in Iraq- meeting the critical unmet social needs of this nation. For instance, the President proposes to slash the Social Services Block Grant program by $500 million this year and eliminate it all together next year.  In my home state of Washington, these funds are critical for providing child care for vulnerable families, Meals-on-Wheels, and services to prevent child abuse.  But the President is more interested in helping the rich get richer and leaving the rest of America down and out. The President is willing to feed their greed by starving the U.S. economy and hurting the American people. 

The American people deserve a budget that recognizes reality and that’s what Democrats have offered. We provide tax relief to the Middle Class by demanding tax fairness for everyone else. We include extended unemployment benefits that I introduced as separate legislation earlier this year, because the American people expect their government to respond when an economic downturn hits - and hurts them. We provide a budget based on reality, meeting the defense needs of the nation and meeting the unmet social needs of the American people.  In other words, the lights are on here and the Democrats are home, working for the American people. The President has offered a budget that shouts: It’s all about funding a hopeless Iraq War, while Democrats have offered a budget that says: It’s about the economy, and hope and help for the American people. 

Vote for the American people by voting for the Democratic budget.

Thank you.