[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 29, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H5572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT CONGRESS TO WORK FASTER AND WITH LESS 
                          POLITICAL POSTURING

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, last week after much pushing, prodding, 
and pulling, the House passed an increase in the minimum wage. This 
past weekend what I heard over and over from the residents of 
Connecticut's Third District, which I represent, was: ``Finally. What 
took so long?''
  Madam Speaker, the American people want us to continue to focus on 
policies that protect their families, honor their work, and safeguard 
the future for their children, but they want these policies to move 
through this Congress faster and with less political posturing.
  The American people want retirement security, so let us make pensions 
portable. They want health care reform, so let us cover preexisting 
conditions. They want a balanced budget, but they do not want us to 
raid the Medicare system.
  I challenge the Republican leadership to listen to what the American 
people are saying. They want to see that Medicare is preserved and not 
destroyed, and that we do not provide a tax break for the wealthiest 
Americans at the expense of seniors who have played by the rules all 
their lives, and all they want is a decent, safe, and a dignified 
retirement.

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