[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H1827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE FEDERAL BUDGET
(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to reiterate some statistics
that I entered into the record earlier today as we try to balance the
Federal budget. Let's look at who has the money.
If you look at the big banks from Wall Street that took us down this
dangerous road, six banks--among them Citigroup, Goldman Sachs,
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo--made last year $51.5 billion in profits.
That's with a ``B,'' billion. Today, the majority passed a few billion
dollars in cuts, and they took it out of the hides of ordinary
Americans who are paying the price of this recession. But imagine if
you worked for a Wall Street bank and only had to pay an effective tax
rate of 11.5 percent or 11 percent when most businesses in America have
to pay 35 percent. They are getting a really good deal. We didn't nick
their bonuses a penny, and the top executives walked home with $26
million.
If you really want to ask yourself the question how to balance the
budget, why don't we look at where the money really is, and none of
that is on the table. And while you're paying those high gas prices,
take a look at Exxon. They have the largest profits in American
history: $9 billion last year in one quarter. Paid no taxes.
American people, wake up.
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