[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 92 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DEMOCRATS TO UNVEIL FAMILIES FIRST AGENDA

  (Mr. BONIOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, today we saw one more reason why the 
American people reject Republican tax breaks for the wealthy. The New 
York Times reports today that the gap between the wealthy and the rest 
of America is now at its widest point since World War II.
  The top 20 percent of Americans now earn more than the 60 percent of 
middle-class households combined.
  People say that the wealthy work hard and deserve to be regarded. And 
that may be true. But does not the rest of America work hard? Do they 
not deserve to be rewarded, too?
  We can get there. But we are not going to get there with a Republican 
agenda that cuts Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment to 
pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.
  It is time we had a families first agenda that gives a $10,000 tax 
deduction to pay for college, that protects pensions, that makes health 
care portable, that raises the minimum wage, that invests in small 
business, and that helps give working families a raise.
  On Sunday, Democrats across this country will unveil our families 
first agenda. Mr. Speaker, it is time we help families and not hurt 
them.

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