[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         RAISING THE DEBT LIMIT

  (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, I would just like to remind my colleague on 
the other side of the aisle who just spoke that the Republican 
prescription drug plan would do nothing about bringing down the cost of 
prescription drugs, which is what is killing Americans, all Americans, 
and their plan would cover 6 percent of seniors instead of 90 percent 
of seniors who would like to have that kind of coverage.
  However, today, the House is going to vote on a very dangerous and 
cynical provision that allows the Federal Government to break its own 
spending limit, takes hundreds of billions of dollars from the Social 
Security trust fund. What they would like to do is hide this plan from 
the American people and what they want to do is to hide this debate 
today without leveling with the public, and what will happen is their 
plan is to take the Nation back into the deficit, raid Social Security.
  We oppose this plan. We support a responsible budget. What we need to 
be trying to do is to make investments in national security, protect 
Social Security and Medicare, do something about prescription drugs and 
the cost of those drugs in the United States today.
  It is time for the House Republicans to be straightforward with the 
American people. We need a responsible, honest, bipartisan budget. We 
need to protect and strengthen Social Security and shore up the 
prescription drug benefit, meet our obligations today so that our kids 
are not saddled with debt.

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