[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 108 (Tuesday, July 19, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H5155-H5156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JOBS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Rangel) for 5 minutes.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, as we go home to our
districts, I am certain that no constituents have said they wake up in
the morning wondering about what we're going to do with the debt
ceiling. In my district, most wonder how they're going to get a job,
how they're going to take care of their families.
So many Americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
They didn't commit any wrongdoing. They lost their savings. Many are
homeless. They've lost their self-esteem. They've lost their health
benefits, and they're looking toward this Congress to kind of put
America on the right track--to restore the middle class that made us
such a great and successful Nation.
Instead of talking about jobs, we find ourselves holding the
President hostage by saying, unlike other Presidents, we're not going
to increase the debt ceiling. This is a technical way of saying that we
owe $14.3 trillion to people whom we borrowed from for unnecessary
wars, for tax cuts that shouldn't have been there, and for a variety of
things that unemployed people throughout the United States are just not
responsible for. Instead of talking about jobs, they will tell you we
have to cut spending.
{time} 1020
So the people who have lost their jobs may lose their Medicaid, those
who are poor enough to be eligible for it; the older people that soon
will be or are entitled to Medicare and the hospitals and the doctors
and the nurses; and, of course, Social Security that so many millions
of Americans have come to depend on. Cutting these benefits are not
just cutting benefits for the vulnerable, but we're cutting jobs. You
can't cut benefits without cutting hospital workers, without cutting
off nurses and doctors and those that provide the services for the
vulnerable.
Is this the only way we can go? Of course not.
Pastors and rabbis and imams all over the country ask: Why are you
picking just on the vulnerable? Why are you picking on the sick and the
poor and the aged?
Is there another way that we can resolve this problem? You bet your
life there is. Because, just as in biblical days, we have among us
those who really God has blessed with riches that our parents and
grandparents never thought could be accumulated. Are we asking them to
pay just a little bit to ease the pain for those that are vulnerable?
I don't know about you, but our pastors and rabbis have spoken out.
And for those of you who don't have pastors and don't have rabbis or
don't have time to listen to our obligation morally, to the people that
can't speak for themselves, the people who have no lobbyists, I will
place into the Record what 4,000 pastors have said is not just our
legal and political obligation but, more importantly, our moral
obligation. I will place this into the Record for when we come back and
try to decide what is our responsibility.
Some people have come to this Congress with a commitment not to raise
taxes no matter what, whether we're attacked, whether the revenue's
coming from obscene tax offenses, whether the Tax Code could be
improved.
For those of you who remember kamikaze pilots, these were people who
were prepared to lose their own lives in fighting our forces during
World War II even if it meant that they were destroying somebody.
There are people here that are prepared to destroy the fiscal
reputation of the United States of America so that they can go back
home and say they fulfilled their commitment about not raising revenues
and about slashing and cutting those people that made this great
country the great country that it is.
So I see on television no one talking about the poor. But thank God
we do have ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, and of all of the
religions and people that have come together, most of whom from foreign
lands, that say this land is my land and in this country a poor person
can make it, and we never, never, never will forget where we've come
from.
Some people have managed to get out of poverty. Others have enjoyed
the middle class. Let's hope that our kids and grandkids will be able
to enjoy the benefits of doing the right thing.
[From Faith in Public Life and Sojourners, July 19, 2011]
An Open Letter to Congress and the President--Listen to Your Pastors
More than 4,000 of them believe the federal budget is not
just a fiscal document, but a moral one.
We are local pastors. We work, pray, and do whatever we can
to remain faithful to the responsibility of every Christian
to help the poor. Still, we can't meet the crushing needs by
ourselves.
Programs like SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, and Head Start aren't
just abstract concepts to us; they serve the same people we
serve. There are changes that can be made or efficiencies
that can be found, but every day we see what government can
do.
We have seen government support allow young people to be
the first members of their families to get college degrees,
ensure mothers can feed their children a healthy diet, enable
those with disabilities to live fulfilling lives, give much
needed medical care to those who can't afford it, support
seniors, provide housing for families, and help people in
finding a job.
As Christians, we believe the moral measure of the debate
is how the most poor and vulnerable people fare. We look at
every budget proposal from the bottom up--how it treats those
Jesus called the ``least of these'' (Matthew 25;45). They do
not have powerful lobbies, but they have the most compelling
claim on our consciences and common resources.
As Christian leaders, we are committed to fiscal
responsibility and shared sacrifice. We want to support you
in reducing the deficit. There is more need today than
churches can meet by themselves. This is why we join in the
``Circle of Protection'' around programs
[[Page H5156]]
that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at
home and abroad.
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