[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 65 (Friday, April 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LOSERS IN THE REPUBLICAN CONTRACT

  (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, the first 100 days has made clear what the 
Republicans are up to. The contract on America gives new meaning to the 
words ``women and children first.'' Programs that benefit working 
Americans are being cut, not for deficit reduction, but for rewards and 
tax reductions to special interests. Who lost? Women, children, 
students, working middle-class families and the elderly. Spending for 
school lunches, nutrition programs like WIC, senior housing, and even 
Medicare have been slashed. Summer jobs programs for disadvantaged 
youth, low income heating, housing assistance for over 5 million low-
income and elderly families have been terminated.
                              {time}  1115

  Cuts in the program have taken place for more than 100,000 police on 
our city's streets. New school loans, programs for students are being 
targeted and being cut. Even Social Security is at risk.
  Half the tax cuts benefit Americans with incomes over $100,000. That 
is the richest 12 percent of Americans. In fact, the top 1 percent of 
the wealthy people get more benefits than 65 million families at the 
bottom.
  Repeal of corporate minimum tax provisions will result in many of our 
largest and most profitable corporations paying no taxes.
  The contract effectively repeals major provisions of environmental 
law meant to preserve human health and the quality of our air, water, 
soil, and, indeed, our life.
  Republicans pushed term limits because they know it could not pass 
rather than addressing the real problem by reforming our broken 
campaign finance system.

                      Who Won, Who Lost--A Summary

       The story of who and who lost in the first 100 days of the 
     Republican Congress is clear.
       Who won: Billionaires, corporate interests, and wealthy 
     Americans who can hire lobbyists to protect and promote their 
     interests in the GOP Congress. They clearly won, as the GOP 
     Congress sought to: Provide special access for GOP lobbyists; 
     provide tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans; wipe out the 
     corporate minimum tax; ignore Democratic efforts to reform 
     lobbying and gift rules and campaign financing; transferred 
     $1.1 billion that was feeding women, infants and children 
     into a windfall profit for big drug companies; and, let 
     lobbyists undo Federal protection for food, health, and 
     safety.
       Who has paid for this unprecedented array of special breaks 
     and privileges is equally clear.
       Who lost: America's working families and their children, 
     and our senior citizens. They clearly lost, as the GOP 
     Congress sought to: Cut school lunches and nutritional 
     standards for meals served in schools; slash national college 
     scholarships and increase the cost of student loans for 
     almost five million families; cut the 100,000 cops program to 
     put more police in neighborhoods; cut aid for needed school 
     reform; decimate job training and eliminate more than one 
     million summer youth jobs; cut funds for Big Bird and Sesame 
     Street as well as other educational TV programming; weaken 
     Federal protection for our drinking water, food, and 
     automobiles; make huge cuts in Medicare; abandon America's 
     promise to our senior citizens by opposing Democratic efforts 
     to protect Social Security from budget balancing plans; and, 
     eliminate home heating assistance for senior citizens and 
     working * * *.
                         A Contract on Michigan

       Winners: Billionaires, Washington lobbyists and well-heeled 
     special interests got huge tax breaks and unprecedented 
     access and influence in the GPO's first 100 days.
       Who Paid For It: Working families, children and seniors in 
     Michigan.
       1. Michigan Loses Education and Job Opportunities.
       151,594 Michigan students will pay more for student loans.
       620 of Michigan's kids won't participate in national 
     service and earn college tuition.
       458,200 Michigan residents will not benefit from an 
     increase in the minimum wage.
       527 entire Michigan schools districts will lose money to 
     make schools safe and drug free.
       3,800 Michigan special needs students will lose the extra 
     help they need to learn and succeed.
       42,900 Michigan kids will lose summer jobs.
       2. Michigan Loses: Feeding and Housing Our Children and 
     Senior Citizens.
       743,665 Michigan children are in danger of losing their 
     school lunches.
       188,089 mothers will lose some or all of the help they 
     receive to provide nutritious food and milk to their infants 
     and children.
       9,930 Michigan children are at risk of losing access to 
     safe, affordable child care.
       377,883 Michigan senior citizens, families and kids will 
     lose heating assistance they depend on to get through the 
     winter.
       32,852 Michigan families who could have counted on an FHA 
     loan to buy their first homes are in danger of losing their 
     only access to an affordable loan.
       3. Michigan Loses: Safer Streets.
       387 fewer cops will walk Michigan's streets as a result of 
     the Republican Contract.
       561 new cops are keeping Michigan communities safer because 
     of Democratic initiatives in 1994.

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