[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 1, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H3815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1220
BLAME EVERYTHING FOR DEBT
(Mr. PERLMUTTER asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute.)
Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, listening to some of the Republicans
that were speaking here earlier today, they want to blame Medicare,
early childhood education, grants to firefighters for the debt that we
have when everybody knows that at the end of the Clinton
administration, this country was running a surplus.
Then we had Bush tax cuts; that's about a trillion dollars. Then we
have a couple wars; that's a trillion dollars. Then there is a collapse
on Wall Street under the Bush administration. That's $2 trillion. That
will turn anybody's budget upside down.
But the Republicans want to take it out of Medicare. They want to
dismantle Medicare. They have never liked Medicare to begin with
because it really works for middle America, for our seniors. We can't
let that happen. We cannot allow them to dismantle Medicare just
because of these other things. They want to protect millionaires,
billionaires and oil companies. We are not going to let them do that.
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