[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 72 (Thursday, May 20, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H3406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HELPING HARD-PRESSED FAMILIES IS CRITICAL

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.).
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, helping hard-pressed families is a 
valuable activity here on the floor of the House. We have an 
opportunity to do it today. Yet my Republican friends are advancing a 
fundamentally flawed proposal.
  For two families each with three children, one making minimum wage, 
the other over $300,000 a year, my Republican friends propose a new 
benefit for the family that makes over $300,000. They will however slam 
the door on the family at minimum wage earning $10,300; no benefit for 
them.
  I keep hoping my Republican friends will show the same compassion for 
the people who need our help the most as they shower new benefits on 
those who need our help the least.

                          ____________________