Debt Limit
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GARAMENDI. Thank you very much. This evening I am going to be joined by several of my colleagues. And as they come to the microphone, let me just lay down some of the facts.
Not more than an hour ago this Chamber voted on Speaker Boehner's proposal to deal with the debt limit. Very interesting comments that he made prior to the speech--and while I can't quote them precisely--he did saythat his whole strategy started way back in January when he told the President that he was going to use the debt limit as a way of getting his way.
Well, we saw what his way is, and that's what was voted on today without any support at all from the Democrats and a lot of Republicans saying that it was not the right way to go.
So what did he propose? We have two very, very basic paths that are facing the American public today. One of those paths is a path that we voted on, which is a path to basically unravel most of the things that America holds dear.
In order to carry out the caps and the $2.5 trillion in reductions that are in that legislation, we would have to decimate Medicare. There is no way it could possibly continue to provide the services to our seniors and similarly Medicaid, of which 70 percent of that money goes to seniors who are in nursing homes. And so those two critical parts of the foundation of the American society--that is providing health care to our seniors and the aged, blind, and disabled--are going to get unraveled as a result of the legislation that passed.
Similarly, there is no way to meet those spending reductions without going after Social Security. The other path is one that we have suggested on the Democratic side, and we are going to spend some time talking about these two today, and that is the path that maintains these pillars of the society of America that basically express the values of our country, that our country is one that cares deeply about our citizens, whether they are aged, seniors who may need medical care and who need an income, Social Security and Medicare, or whether they are young children that need an education and those in between that need jobs.
That's the path that the Democrats have offered in the budget that we put forth on this floor that we voted on, that was our recommendation on how to move forward. It failed without any Republican support, but it was a path that basically spoke to the values of this Nation that we have held dear for these many, many years.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. GARAMENDI. Thank you.
I'll do a wrap here, and we'll be finished for this evening.
Unfortunately, the work has not yet been completed. We do need to lift the debt ceiling. We can, and it will be done one way or the other. The President has the ultimate authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to simply order the Treasury to pay the bills.
All that has gone on here today will devastate the United States. It will devastate it. We've talked about that part of this is the requirement that no more debt ceilings will be lifted until there is a constitutional amendment that requires a two-thirds, or a 60 percent, vote to do anything. That is guaranteed gridlock. The only thing that could take place on a majority vote would be cuts. Think about that, America. In order to raise taxes, in order to end the tax breaks given to the oil companies or the rich barons on Wall Street, it takes a two-thirds vote. But to cut Medicare?--a majority vote. We're not going to let that happen.
There is one place that the Democratic Party is going to stand, and that is: Keep your hands off Social Security and Medicare. No way. Nohow. I don't care about all of this talk that goes on here. The bottom line is: That is a fundamental building block foundation of this Nation. It brought every senior out of poverty.
There's not a family in America that doesn't depend upon Social Security and Medicare for their parents. Now, if you want that cut, you stay there with what the Republicans are talking about because there's no way that you could possibly carry out what they're proposing unless you go after Medicare and Social Security and Medicaid.
We will not let it happen. This is where we stand. It's not a line in the sand. It is etched into the very heart of the Democratic Party.
With that, I thank my colleagues for joining me this evening, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Source