Jobs for America Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from New York for yielding.

I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4 because it adds over $500 billion in permanent corporate tax giveaways that could end up causing 1 million hardworking Americans to lose their employer-provided health coverage and do nothing to help the tens of thousands of my constituents and tens of millions of Americans who are experiencing deep poverty, unemployment, and economic distress.

I cannot support adding over $500 billion to our deficit for permanent handouts to big corporations while 3.3 million long-term unemployed go unaided, while repairs and renovations to our Nation's infrastructure are threatened, while the Medicare doctors' fix goes unresolved, and while irrational budget cuts strangle education, health, research, and innovation.

This bill marks the height of Republican irresponsibility on both fiscal and policy grounds. I ask, how many millions of low-income students could complete college using Pell grants with just a fraction of the cost of this bill? How many long-term unemployed could pay their rent or provide food for their families with even a tiny amount of the cost of this bill? How many more small businesses could receive investment grants or critical low-cost loans?

Our government, yes, has the responsibility to advance policies that create jobs, strengthen our citizens, and grow our economy, not ones that undermine the health and well-being of Americans and advance the wealthiest among us at the expense of the struggling.

I will vote ``no'' on this sham jobs-creating bill.

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