Full-year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

Floor Speech

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Ms. CHU. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment because it doesn't do anything to create jobs. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. Over the last 6 weeks since the Republicans took over control of the House, they haven't created a single job. In fact, they haven't even put a single jobs bill on the House floor.

With this mindless job-killing Republican spending bill, they are hurting the American people. This bill senselessly cuts over 1 million jobs at a time when we need them most, at a time when we can least afford it. This is nothing more than a Republican pink slip for America.

This bill doesn't get our broken American economy back on track. Instead, Republicans are hitting American workers where it hurts. These merciless Republican cuts mean, if you work in manufacturing, no jobs; if you are a cop, no jobs; if you are a nurse, no jobs; if you are a teacher, no jobs; if you are a firefighter, no jobs; if you are a construction worker, no jobs.

Republicans aren't just ignoring jobs. They are slashing them. And that means pink slips for Americans across the country and across almost every industry. If we aren't helping real Americans, where is this money going? Right into the pockets of big defense contractors.

While Americans across the country are finding themselves out of work due to mindless Republican spending cuts, the military industrial complex will actually be making more money.

While they slash jobs and safety net programs, Republicans are actually increasing funding to the Department of Defense by $10 billion. This spending is excessive and way out of proportion with the needs of the American people.

Even Defense Secretary Gates has found $100 billion in cuts and savings to the Department of Defense while still keeping America safe. That's the entire cost of the job-killing cuts Republicans are asking for here today.

Instead of expanding our economy and growing the middle class, Republicans want to make you, the American people, pay. They want to make you pay to line the pockets of defense contractors, make you pay for Big Oil's billion-dollar subsidies, make you pay for higher drug prices, make you pay taxes to start a small business, make you pay for CEO salaries, make you take a hit while Wall Street gets a bonus. We need to look out for constituents first, not corporate friends.

And this bill isn't even about reducing deficits, because we all know that the best way to reduce the deficit is to put Americans to work, not carelessly gut government programs. Instead, we need to rebuild America and focus on winning the future.

Today's bill is a choice between cutting the deficit or putting Americans back to work, and I am voting for jobs. We need to invest in our Nation so that we can out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. I want to see the words ``Made in America'' again.

The American people voted for jobs, and all they are getting with this gutting and slashing funding proposal are pink slips. This is a heartless and careless plan that cuts real American jobs and hurts real American families.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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