[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 39 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               IT'S MEAN

  (Mr. VOLKMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. VOLKMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today seeking an answer. The House 
Appropriations Committee is meeting this morning to mark up legislation 
that would rescind selected appropriations that were authorized for 
fiscal year 1995. My question is: How do they justify some of these 
rescissions that have been proposed by the appropriations 
subcommittees?
  We all realize that cuts have to be made in the Federal budget and 
that we have to rethink how we spend our constituents' tax dollars. But 
how can they be so mean-spirited as to make these cuts at the expense 
of the people we are trying to help.
  Discretionary programs for low-income people account for 12 percent 
or $64 billion of the Federal Government's total discretionary 
spending; but as a result of proposals made by the appropriations 
subcommittees, these programs would bear 63 percent or almost $11 
billion of the cuts. Of $17.5 billion that was cut by appropriations 
committees last week, $14.9 billion were cut from five departments: 
Education, Health and Human Services, HUD, Labor, and VA. To my 
thinking, that is just mean. It looks to me that these cuts are 
intended to justify the tax cut for the wealthy that the Republicans 
promised in their Contract on America.


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