[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    BROKEN ARMS AND BROKEN PROMISES

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, late last night the House passed the 1997 
budget, after an intense battle. The Republican leadership spent an 
entire day twisting arms to get the votes they needed. The result: A 
House Chamber filled with broken arms and, most important, broken 
promises.
  Some freshman Republicans who came to Washington to balance the 
budget ended up voting to actually increase the deficit. Two in 
particular, Representatives Cooley and Cubin, actually voted ``no'' on 
passing the budget and then switched their votes. They were joined by 
two other switchers, Representatives Allard and Metcalf. Clearly there 
was a lot of pressure in this Chamber yesterday.
  Pressure to approve a budget that increases the deficit, cuts the 
Medicare Program by $168 billion over a 6-year period to pay for tax 
breaks for the wealthy, limits student loans, taxes working families, 
and closes rural hospitals.
  Now the drama of the budget battle is over and the Republican 
leadership has made one thing explicitly clear: Promises can be made 
and promises can be broken.

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