[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H3574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                          AMERICAN PRIORITIES

  (Mr. BROWN of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, perhaps some of us on our side of the 
aisle have been a little bit too critical of President Bush. After all 
he has in his budget a universal health care plan for 23 million 
people. He has in his budget money for school construction, 25,000 new 
schools, renovated schools, repaired schools.
  The problem, Mr. Speaker, that is the President's budget for Iraq. 
Universal health coverage for 23 million Iraqis, school construction of 
25,000 and renovation of 25,000 schools, but not a penny in the 
President's budget for school construction in this country, in spite of 
the fact that our school buildings, many of them are in awful shape, 
and not a penny for universal coverage of 40 million Americans without 
health insurance.
  The reason? The tax cuts the President has asked for of $500 billion 
in tax cuts. Half of those tax cuts go to the richest one percent of 
the people in the country. The people whose incomes average $968,000. 
Money for school construction and health care in Iraq. No money for 
school construction and health care in the United States and tax cuts 
for the most privileged. It is the wrong priorities.

                          ____________________