[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 166 (Wednesday, December 15, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H8356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           SHOWING COMPASSION

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. I rise today to share a passage from Proverbs 31:8-9: ``If 
a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and 
not be answered.''
  Madam Speaker, let us heed that cry. I encourage my colleagues to 
open our ears today during this holiday season and hear the 
compassionate cry of the working poor and middle income families back 
home. In my congressional district alone, some 6,400 people who lost 
their jobs through no fault of their own will be without their earned 
unemployment lifeline by the end of this month, unless we act. At the 
same time, my colleagues in this Chamber are worried about people that 
own estates or make millions and billions of dollars each and every 
year.
  Let us show compassion for our neighbors and family members by 
standing up for the working poor and our middle income families. We 
should continue to provide tax cuts for the middle class community and 
extend unemployment insurance.

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