Senator Schumer's Floor Discussion on Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2003

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am happy to cosponsor this amendment. I will ask the Senator a question. We in New York—and I think it is true throughout the country—are seeing that our providers, whether they be hospitals or clinics or home health care, are laying off people and are not able to do the job anymore that they once did. There is no more fat in the system. We cut that out in New York in the 1980s, and then we did it further federally in the 1990s.
    
Aside from the No. 1 job, which is to provide the best health care possible to our seniors and others, aren't our cutbacks in New York and elsewhere causing the economy to go down even further because of the layoffs of many people? These are some of the poorest citizens—people who just climbed the ladder, with health care jobs, particularly at the entry level, which are important to immigrants and so many others. Doesn't she believe her amendment might have a small stimulative effect on the economy, and, conversely, not doing this amendment and allowing the cuts to go deeper would hurt our economy throughout the country?