Rules of the House

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Well, Mr. Speaker, that didn't take long. Our Republican friends have been in charge of the House for about 1 hour, and already they are up to their old discredited tricks.

They promised the American people that they were serious about deficit reduction. Apparently that promise was for campaign purposes only, because the Republicans' rule package before us today paves the way for a huge explosion in our national debt to the tune of $5 trillion. That's trillion with a ``t''.

The new Republican majority is attempting to drag this country back to their supply-side fantasyland where deficits either don't matter or could be addressed by giving huge tax breaks to the very, very wealthy. Back here in the real world their proposals would do real harm to real middle class families. They want to slash funding for education, for infrastructure, for investments and new technology, for medical research, for job training. You name it. If the new program benefits working families, it's on the chopping block.

But if you are a wealthy hedge fund manager or a huge defense contractor or a playboy son of a dead multimillionaire, you are in luck. Your tax breaks are safe. As The Washington Post said in a recent editorial, When it comes to tax cuts, it's all go, no pay.

I would say to my Republican friends, if you care about deficit reduction, if you meant what you said on the campaign trail, then vote against this misguided rules package. If you want transparency, then do away with the smoke and mirrors. If you want accountability, then stop the hypocrisy. This rules package is shameful.

This new Republican majority appears determined to do what they have done in the past, and that is dig this country deeper and deeper into debt. It is the wrong thing to do. Vote ``no.''

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