Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I was struck about 15 minutes ago when one of the speakers on the other side made the claim that the Democratic agenda was rejected by the American people in November. It was so rejected, Democrats won the House, the Senate, and the White House for the first time in a dozen years. That is rejection I can take.

The reality is, the American people put us in charge because the previous administration's response to COVID was so weak and so ineffective.

It is a sad fact that more than 400,000 Americans have died from COVID. This is now one of the four most deadly events in American history. We have 20 percent of the COVID deaths and 20 percent of the COVID cases worldwide.

To deal with the enormity of the crisis, we need a big, bold plan, such as the Biden 1.9 plan.

Mr. Speaker, economists are famous for not agreeing. Because economists were so famous for saying, ``Well, on the one hand, or on the other hand,'' Harry Truman, when asked, said the one thing he wanted was a one-handed economist. So it is striking that economists all across the ideological spectrum--liberal, centrist, conservative-- all favor going big in this moment. That is what this plan does.

I am also struck by the fact that there must be a Democrat in the White House because the other side is suddenly talking about the deficit and the debt again. When there is a Republican in the White House, it is not a big concern.

Again, Mr. Speaker, economists agree: This is not a moment that we should be concerned about the deficit and the debt. This is a moment when, once and for all, we need to finally tackle this pandemic.

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